RIDEGURU
SAN FRANCISCO — Sayfullo Saipov, the 29-year-old suspect in Tuesday's deadly New York truck attack, earned money the way many gig economy works do. He drove for Uber.
But the fact that Saipov raised no flags for the ride-hailing company when it conducted its standard background check shows just how difficult it is to screen for potentially criminal behavior if there is no track record.
Saipov drove more than 1,400 trips for Uber in the past six months. Authorities continue to investigate the suspect, who came from Uzbekistan in 2010 and settled in Paterson, N.J. To date, his biggest offense seems to be from 2015, when he was cited by police for towing a trailer that was too long.
Other perpetrators of mass killings in the U.S. had similarly flown under the radar. The recent deadly rampage in Las Vegas was perpetrated by Stephen Paddock, who despite amassing a huge arsenal of weapons had no previous criminal history that might have helped authorities prevent the crime.
In 2016, Kalamazoo, Mich., Uber driver Jason Brian Dalton was picking up fares just before going on a shooting rampage that left six dead. He even started looking for fares after the killings. Dalton had passed Uber's background check, and had no criminal background.
The company's response to that incident was the same as its statement after Saipov rammed his rented truck into bicyclists, killing 8. An Uber representative said the company was "horrified" at the senseless act of violence as was cooperating with fe…
SAN FRANCISCO — Sayfullo Saipov, the 29-year-old suspect in Tuesday's deadly New York truck attack, earned money the way many gig economy works do. He drove for Uber.
But the fact that Saipov raised no flags for the ride-hailing company when it conducted its standard background check shows just how difficult it is to screen for potentially criminal behavior if there is no track record.
Saipov drove more than 1,400 trips for Uber in the past six months. Authorities continue to investigate the suspect, who came from Uzbekistan in 2010 and settled in Paterson, N.J. To date, his biggest offense seems to be from 2015, when he was cited by police for towing a trailer that was too long.
Other perpetrators of mass killings in the U.S. had similarly flown under the radar. The recent deadly rampage in Las Vegas was perpetrated by Stephen Paddock, who despite amassing a huge arsenal of weapons had no previous criminal history that might have helped authorities prevent the crime.
In 2016, Kalamazoo, Mich., Uber driver Jason Brian Dalton was picking up fares just before going on a shooting rampage that left six dead. He even started looking for fares after the killings. Dalton had passed Uber's background check, and had no criminal background.
The company's response to that incident was the same as its statement after Saipov rammed his rented truck into bicyclists, killing 8. An Uber representative said the company was "horrified" at the senseless act of violence as was cooperating with federal officials.
"We are aggressively and quickly reviewing this partner’s history with Uber, and at this time we have not identified any related concerning safety reports," the statement said.
Uber said Saipov had been banned from the Uber app.
More: NYC terror attack: What we know now about the truck attack in Manhattan
More: New York tightens security after truck attack out of caution, not over concern of more attacks
More: NYC terror attack: Sayfullo Saipov was here on diversity visa, Trump says. What is that?
Comments
Yes, but he also ate at McDonald's 5000 times but no one is blaming them.