A man fired shots in an Indiana mobile home and then ordered a Lyft as his getaway car, police say.
Issa Amer Ishtawi, 20, broke into a mobile home in Portage, Indiana, about ten miles east of Gary, on Tuesday, Portage Police Department said.
Ishtawi fired a gun inside the home before taking one of the residents outside, shooting several more rounds into the house and striking a man who was visiting in his left foot, police said.
Several rounds also struck nearby homes, police said, but nobody else was hurt.
Ishtawi ran away but was soon spotted by an officer as he rode in a car operated by a Lyft driver. The ride app company confirmed the incident to NBC News.
Police found a loaded Glock .40 handgun stashed under the passenger seat and a ziplock bag of marijuana in Ishtawi’s backpack.
The driver did not recognize the gun and was “very cooperative and shook up by the entire incident,” Police Chief Troy Williams said in a statement on the department’s Facebook page.
“Mr. Ishtawi refused to answer questions and seemed to have little regard for the events that had occurred,” Williams added.
In a statement to NBC News, a Lyft spokeswoman emphasized how seriously the company took safety and called the incident “frightening and deeply concerning.”
“Upon becoming aware of the allegations, we immediately banned the passenger from our community and reached out to the driver to offer our support. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation,” she said.
Ishtawi has been charged with multiple felonies, including aggravated battery with a handgun, intimidation, possession of a pistol with no permit and possession of marijuana.