Gunman randomly shoots, kills 6 in Kalamazoo, Michigan
UPDATE: Feb. 21, 2016, 11:50 a.m. EST
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Michigan State Police have identified the victims in the Cracker Barrel shooting, in which the occupants of two cars were targeted.
In one car, the sole occupant -- Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda, Mich. -- was killed. In the other, Battle Creek, Mich. residents Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, were also killed. The as-yet-unidentified 14-year-old survivor of the shooting -- who is in critical condition at Kalamazoo's Bronson Hospital -- was also in the second car.
UPDATE: Feb. 21, 2016, 9:34 a.m. EST
A gunman killed at least six people and injured three others in a series of apparently random shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Saturday night, according to authorities.
"There is no connection between any of them, this all appears to be random," Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas told NBC News. "This is the worst-case scenario that any community can have."
Officials said Sunday morning they had apprehended Jason Brian Dalton, 45, of Kalamazoo County. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says Dalton likely will face multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder when he is arraigned on Monday.
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Local authorities in Kalamazoo expressed confidence in the arrest of Dalton, citing as-yet-unidentified evidence and noting that a semi-automatic handgun had been recovered from his car.
"We are very confident that we have the right person in custody," Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting said during a Sunday morning press conference. "We have significant evidence to tie him to these incidents."
At present, the shooter's motive remains unknown. "That's one of the things we're working hard to establish," Getting added.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety noted that Dalton -- who has "no known criminal record" -- was "even-tempered" and "cooperative" upon his arrest. Police used video from the businesses connected to the shooting to locate the suspect's vehicle.
Norberto Dirruete, who witnessed the police activity around Dalton's arrest in the early morning hours of Feb. 21, shared a brief account of what he saw with the Kalamazoo Gazette.
"We just happened to see all the cop cars pull up. I pulled over and I asked the cop 'Did you guys catch him? And he said 'yes.'"
Dirruete didn't see the actual arrest, however. "I didn't want to be that close," he said.
With the suspect in custody, "there is no danger or threat to the community," police said.
Matyas said the shootings started around 6 p.m. local time at an apartment complex and continued four hours later at a Kia dealership and a Cracker Barrel restaurant.
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Additional reporting by Mashable's Jonathan Ellis and Adam Rosenberg and The Associated Press.
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Brittany Levine Beckman was Mashable's managing editor. She enjoys crafting feature ideas, learning new things, and party parrots. Before working at Mashable, she covered community news at the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. That's how she met a zonkey and the tallest man in the world.
