Police: Uber driver fatally shoots passenger on Denver interstate

Show Caption Hide Caption Police investigate homicide involving Uber Driver on I-25 in Denver Police say the driver and passenger were in an altercation, but no arrests have yet been made

DENVER — An Uber driver fatally shot a passenger early Friday morning while the two were in a vehicle on an interstate in Denver.

Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said preliminary information points to a conflict between the driver and passenger. He says shots were fired by the driver on Interstate 25 shortly before 3 a.m Friday.

The driver, identified by police as Michael A. Hancock, 29, is being held without bond in a Denver jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. Hancock told a witness the passenger, identified by the medical examiner as Hyun Kim, 45, assaulted him while they were driving, according to court records.

The initial police investigation snarled morning rush-hour traffic through Denver. I-25 is the primary north-south route through the city, and the closure of the southbound lanes until 8 a.m. Denver time forced drivers to battle heavy traffic through residential areas and the University of Denver campus, backing up vehicles into neighborhoods as commuters sought alternate routes.

Hancock’s mother, Stephanie Hancock, told KUSA-TV that he's been driving for Uber for a couple of years to make extra money. He also works at a youth group home as a counselor, she said.

“He’s a husband, a father, a college student. He works two jobs,” Stephanie Hancock told the station. “It’s a terrible, terrible thing that happened. We don’t know anything else.”

Hancock's parents told KUSA-TV that he had a concealed carry permit from his days of working as a security guard. Police said they recovered 10 bullet casings from the scene.

Uber's policies generally ban both drivers and passengers from carrying firearms.

"This is very preliminary, but it appears there was an Uber driver and his passenger got into a conflict inside his vehicle, shots were exchanged, shots were fired and the passenger it appears was shot," Jackson told KUSA-TV in Denver.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Uber said, “We are all deeply troubled by the events in Denver today. Our thoughts are with the families of those involved. The driver's access to the app has been removed, and we will continue working closely with police.”

This is just the latest troublesome incident for the ride-hailing company in Denver and the state of Colorado. In April, Denver law professor Nancy Leong fired off a series of tweets describing how her Uber driver told her he was going to take her to a hotel instead of the Denver International Airport. At a stop light, she said she screamed and pounded on the vehicle windows until nearby construction workers noticed and the driver then unlocked the doors and Leong got out.

Last year, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $8.9 million after regulators found 57 Uber drivers over the previous year and a half were on the job despite having felony convictions, major moving violations or were driving with a suspended, revoked or cancelled driver's license.

The commission in April reduced the fine to $4.5 million after some violations were dismissed and a judge has not ruled on Uber's petition that the commission exceeded its authority with the penalty.

Contributing: KUSA-TV