Accused Kalamazoo shooter Jason Dalton has been formally charged with murder, assault with intent to commit murder, and weapons charges. That’s in connection with a weekend shooting spree that left six people dead and two critically injured.
Dalton was quiet throughout the hearing carried out via a closed circuit video connection from the jail where’s being held without bail. His eyes were usually focused downward, and one of his few statements was that he’d prefer to not say anything. He faces 16 charges – including six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, and eight gun charges.
Prosecutors said Dalton acknowledged being the shooter after he was read his rights. “For the purposes of obtaining a warrant, the police have put on the record that he made a statement acknowledging his involvement in this incident,” said Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting. “That’s all I can tell you right now.”
But Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas says a motive for the shootings remains a mystery. “We’re really not that much closer to why this occurred then we were 10 minutes after he was arrested,” he said. Investigators say they intend to spend the coming weeks piecing together a more-complete timeline of what happened and try to determine what sparked someone to go on a murderous rampage that appeared to target random strangers. Federal authorities say a cache of weapons was taken from Dalton’s home the morning following the shootings.
Dalton’s next court date is March 3rd. He’s been assigned a public defender.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
