The Guy Next Door: Uber Driver Accused Of Killing 6 On Shooting Rampage In 2016 Pleads Guilty To All Charges

KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN — An Uber driver who killed 6 and injured 3 others during a mobile shooting spree, and later blaming the Uber app for his actions, has pleaded guilty to all charges at the start of his trial.

The incident occurred over the course of a few hours on February 20th, 2016. The driver even took fares in between his shooting rampage, with some riders jokingly asking the driver if he was the shooter after they heard the news.

[The gunman] halted jury selection in his trial with surprise guilty pleas to six counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and eight counts of felony use of a firearm, according to prosecutors. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

via NBCnews.com

I remember covering this story almost in real-time, and had a difficult time processing what was happening. In the minds of many, including my own, it takes a mass shooting to a whole new level when the gunman is mobile in this way, and when police haven’t caught up to him yet.

Furthermore, once the suspect was found and arrested, most accounts painted him as a relatively normal guy. In his mid-40’s, he had no criminal history and no history of mental health problems.

Days before the incident, reports show that the gunman was more depressed than usual and was showing signs of paranoia.

Still, it wasn’t enough to throw up red flags and have someone call the authorities because they fear that something bad may come of it.

The point? This man did what he did, and it would seem that nothing could have stopped it. Not gun control, not a call to police, nothing.

Get to the point already. Fine.

Unpredictable things happen in life, and they’ll continue to happen as long as humans roam the earth. There are good people, there are bad people, and there are good people that turn bad (and bad that turn good). The truth is, it’s impossible to calculate when the next mass shooting will take place and it’s impossible to calculate who will be responsible.

In this instance, I think it’s safe to say that the people who knew the gunman would not have thought that he’d go on a shooting rampage. It was out of his character.

But it still happened.

That’s why we carry. Well, it’s one reason. We don’t carry firearms because we’re paranoid. We carry them because we want to be given an advantage, if we are ever put into a situation such as this. From the get-go, every person except the gunman is at an automatic disadvantage during a mass shooting. He or she chooses the place and time, and it’s likely that no one else knows this information.

And yes, there will be another mass shooting and yes, those people will be at a disadvantage as well.

I started Concealed Nation to promote responsible and legal concealed carry, as well as promoting the importance of practicing with your firearms and maintaining a healthy mind and body. These are all a part of the equation, and none of them should be missed.

So carry on, and practice on.