Hijacked Uber Driver Kills Attempted Robber
According to CBS Miami, an Uber driver fought back during an attempted robbery on Sunday in South Florida, which police say potentially saved his life and the passenger’s life.
The news outlet reported that people in the area figured out something was wrong inside an Uber car near the Ventura Mall south of Fort Lauderdale.
“It looked like there was a fatality and there was a sheet covering something,” said Margo Stashauer to CBS Miami, assuming a cyclist or pedestrian had been hit by a car. “I didn’t think that someone would’ve been shot.”
But the man she saw in the street was not only shot dead, but trying to pull off a robbery on the Uber driver.
Police said the incident happened around 5 a.m. when an Uber driver picked up someone and headed toward the airport, which was their destination.
“The Uber driver was then cut off by what we believe to be a dark colored either silver or gray Dodge Caravan,” said Aventura Police Sgt. Chris Goranitis to CBS Miami.
Goranitis said a man jumped out of a minivan with two guns and pointed them at the Uber driver. The driver, who also had a firearm in his car and a permit for it, shot the suspect on the scene.
The passenger of the minivan quickly got into the drivers seat and sped off, said police.
The driver and his passenger are being questioned by police along with a person of interest.
A van has already been brought into the Aventura Police Department matching the description of the one used in the attempted robbery.
Police said the driver is a licensed gun owner and has a permit to carry it. At this time there are no charges expected to be filed against him.
