Lyft driver shot three times by rider he was picking up in south Fort Worth, police say
A Lyft driver was shot three times by a rider at an apartment complex in south Fort Worth on Tuesday night, according to police.
The ride-share driver was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive his injuries, a police spokesperson said.
The shooting was reported shortly before 8 p.m. Nov. 12 at apartments in the 8100 block of Cassie Lane. The driver told police that he was shot by his passenger and although the victim drives for Lyft, he said that the ride was arranged outside the platform.
The victim, identified as 29-year-old Marx Jean, met the gunman while driving for Lyft and gave the man his phone number, Jean told KDFW-TV.
The shooter asked Jean to book the “off-platform” ride on Tuesday, police said.
Jean, who underwent surgery on Wednesday, told KDFW that he went to pick up the man and a woman at the apartment complex where the shooting happened and an argument ensued. Jean said he told the man he wanted payment in advance and the man pulled out a gun, told him to get out of the car and shot him, KDFW reported. He was wounded in his arm and leg.
“He shot me, and I looked at my arm. ‘I got shot! I got shot!’ All I see is blood,” Jean told the TV station. “Do I go left? Do I go right? So I get out of the apartment and go to the nearest convenience store.”
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In a statement, a Lyft spokesperson said the company’s drivers are prohibited from booking rides for payment off-platform.
“The behavior being alleged has no place in our society, and our thoughts are with the victim,” the company said. “While this incident did not occur on the Lyft platform, we stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation.”
Police initially said the rider was being dropped off at the time of the shooting, but the investigation later found he was being picked up.
The shooter was not in custody as of Wednesday, Nov. 13, and police have not released a description of the suspect. Gun violence detectives are investigating the shooting.
