Uber Driver Shot By Vet Accused Of Firing 15 Rounds At Car
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - An Uber driver in Dallas was shot in the stomach while sitting in a vehicle just outside a Lakewood area apartment complex, in the 100 block of North Brookside Drive. When officers arrived they found and detained an Army veteran who they said fired at least 15 rounds into the car.
Police were called to the Lakewood on the Trail Apartments just before 1 a.m. Once there they found an uninjured Uber passenger, the wounded 24-year-old driver, and the man accused of shooting him. The suspect was later identified as 33-year-old John Beaty.
Investigators call the case unusual and said it began when the passenger, who had been drinking, showed the Uber driver a gun he was carrying. It was then that Beaty, an Army vet who police said may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, saw the gun and thought someone was in danger.
Not knowing if someone was in harm's way or even who the aggressor was, Beaty allegedly pulled a weapon and fired at the car. At least one of the bullets hit the Uber driver.
After shooting the driver, Beaty went to the car and rendered first aid until paramedics arrived. He was later handcuffed, taken to Dallas police headquarters and is now charged with Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon.
Officers said the injured driver, who was shot in the chest, doesn't appear to have life-threatening injuries and they have not released the names of Uber driver or his passenger. Beaty is being held in the Dallas County Jail.
