Jacob Allemon, an Uber driver in Michigan, is accused of repeatedly stabbing a passenger.
After Jacob Matthew Allemon, an Uber driver in Michigan, approached the couple he was to transport Saturday, one of the passengers rapped on his window, police said.
Allemon, 23, took the action as a sign of disrespect, investigators said.
The situation got only worse, eventually spiraling into a physical confrontation between Allemon and the 49-year-old passenger, police said. Allemon is now accused of stabbing the man, who was with his wife at the time.
The victim suffered stab wounds to his chest, back and face. Allemon was taken into custody and charged with assault with the intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, the Bloomfield Township Police Department said in a news release.
Allemon was arraigned Sunday, according to the release, and bond was set at $250,000. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.
The confrontation began after the victim and his wife requested an Uber vehicle as they left a party, police said. Allemon accepted the request and went to pick up the couple.
"The victim tapped on the window to alert Allemon that they were entering the vehicle," police said in the news release. "Allemon felt his vehicle was disrespected when the victim tapped on the window."
The ride didn't last very long. The couple and Allemon traveled about a mile before the driver pulled over in a parking lot and "ordered the victim out of his vehicle."
"The victim asked if they could wait for another Uber" because of a snowstorm, police said. "An altercation ensued and during the altercation Allemon stabbed the victim multiple times."
About 1:30 a.m., police responded to a 911 call about a stabbing in the parking lot of the shopping center. An officer who arrived found "two male subjects fighting in the back seat of a 2012 Honda Civic," according to the release.
The victim had managed to disarm Allemon before police arrived, the news release said. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment and later released.
In a case report, an officer described Allemon's appearance when authorities arrived, writing that he was "completely covered in blood from head to toe."
"He had so much blood on him I asked him if he had any wounds or injuries that he was bleeding from, he stated that he did not think he did," the report said.
Allemon discussed the incident with an officer on the way to the station, even though the officer told him that he wouldn't ask questions en route, according to the report. He appeared "very emotional" and was crying and anxious.
"Allemon stated that tonight he went to pick up his fare," the report said. "He stated that the male subject came up to this car and hit it hard twice prior to getting in the car. Allemon stated that he told the subject not to disrespect his car like that, but the subject told him to just drive. Allemon stated that he should have ended the ride right there, but he did not and began driving them home."
Allemon told the officer that after he decided to end the ride, the man refused to get out of the car and told him to get another Uber driver for the rest of the trip. According to Allemon's account, he told the man that that wasn't his job and that he wanted him out of the car. Allemon alleged that instead of leaving, the man "started to choke him."
Both the victim and his wife gave a different version of events, telling authorities that Allemon lunged at the victim.
An Uber official said Monday that Allemon has been banned from the ride-sharing app and that the company has reached out to authorities to offer any assistance in the investigation.
The incident occurred the same weekend that an Uber driver in south Florida fatally shot an armed man who attempted to rob him, according to reports. The Miami Herald reported that the encounter occurred early Sunday near a mall in Aventura.
Aventura police spokesman Chris Goranitis told the newspaper that the driver picked up a passenger about 5:50 a.m. During the trip, a Dodge Caravan cut off the Uber driver, and a man with two handguns got out of the van.
Goranitis told the Herald that the Uber driver was armed, too. The suspected robber was fatally shot. The van drove away, although police later recovered the vehicle. The Uber driver escaped without injuries, according to the newspaper.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)