This article was published on April 8, 2016

Teens kill their Uber driver, caught because they used the app to hail their victim


Teens kill their Uber driver, caught because they used the app to hail their victim

A 51-year-old Uber driver in Delhi, India, was fatally shot by his two teenage passengers, reports a local news outlet.

The incident occurred two days ago, and was reported after police found the driver’s body left in a field. Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpendra Kumar said it happened in the late afternoon after the teens got into a verbal disagreement with the driver. He was reportedly shot in the head and chest.

Using the driver’s Uber pickup record, police were able to apprehend the teens hours after the body was discovered. Police say the minors did not have previous criminal records, though they are trying to figure out how the teens obtained the gun.

“Our thoughts are with the family of our driver-partner, the victim of this mindless violence,” Gagan Bhatia, Uber North India’s General Manager, said. “We have pro-actively shared details with the police to assist them with their investigation.”

Uber’s had a long history of passenger-driver assaults and harassments, but only a handful have resulted in the death of either party. To combat emergency situations during the ride, it has implemented a global code of conduct and an SOS button in-app – though it doesn’t seem like either could have prevented the situation this time.

UberSOS

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