FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — A man is in the Fond du Lac County Jail after a woman called 9-1-1 when he pointed a gun in her face. The 31-year-old man from Chicago tried escaping police in an Uber.
- Meet a neighbor who says she is not surprised something like this happened on her block Thursday night
- Meet an Uber driver who has been doing rideshares in the Fox Valley for more than seven years
- How he says he stays safe when picking people up
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Fond du Lac police arrested a 31-year-old man Thursday night after he pointed a gun at a woman while five children were inside the house. Police say the man tried escaping in an Uber. I'm Pari Apostolakos reporting in studio. I spoke with a neighbor and one Uber driver in the Fox Valley who takes extra precautions to stay safe.
In a news release, the Fond du Lac police department says they were called to this block of Butler Street after 11:45 p.m. for a man pointing a gun at a woman's face inside a house where five children were present, ranging in age from newborn to 13. Nobody was hurt.
Triniti Paavola has lived on the block since September.
"There was SWAT outside of our house, it was actually just like three houses down from our house," Paavola said. "There was just a couple of cars just sitting out there, there were a few officers that were sitting outside."
Police say the 31-year-old man from Chicago was also wanted by the US Marshals on a federal parole warrant for the possession of a machine gun and dangerous drugs.
"It's not really surprising," Paavola said of the incident. "Like, it's really messed up that that happened to somebody but [I'm] not surprised by it."
The SWAT team was called in, and the man tried to escape in an Uber, but was caught.
Scott Patten has been driving rideshares like Uber in the Fox Valley for more than seven years.
"You just don't know the type of people that you get," he said.
Hearing about an armed man trying to escape from police in an Uber reminded him why he takes precautions when picking up a ride, like investing in a dash cam.
"It records video and audio," he said, and the device can record inside the car's cab and out the windshield.
He encourages using the safety features built in the Uber app.
"9-1-1 assistance, if you tap that it'll contact the local police," Patten said.
But, he says you always have to trust your instincts.
"If your gut's telling you something's wrong I would just cancel the ride and move on and don't risk it," Patten said.
Fond du Lac Police say the man is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail on a federal parole warrant and any charges from Thursday will be referred to the Fond du Lac district attorney's office.
