The victim, identified as Ryan Thornton, reportedly exchanged words with the Uber Eats driver after Thornton received his meal at a Buckhead apartment complex around 11:00pm on Saturday. Thornton was shot “several times” and was taken to a local hospital where he eventually died of his wounds.
The local NBC affiliate in Atlanta reports that Thornton recently graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in political science and had just taken a new job.
“We are shocked and saddened by this news,” an Uber spokesperson told Gizmodo in a statement. “We are working with Atlanta Police, and our hearts go out to the families of those involved.”
It’s against Uber company policy for drivers to carry weapons of any kind, though it’s unknown if the company ever conducts random checks to see if its drivers are complying. Uber’s safety policies have been repeatedly criticized in the past for being too lax.
Drivers for Uber Eats are considered independent contractors rather than employees of Uber, though they must pass a basic background check. Uber’s global taxi service has seen its fair share of murder and assault by drivers since it was launched by former CEO Travis Kalanick in 2009, but this is believed to be the first death at the hands of an Uber Eats delivery driver.
Gizmodo has reached out to the Atlanta Police Department for more information about the investigation and will update this post when we hear back.
source:Gizmodo
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