A Lyft driver fired his gun at four passengers he said flashed their own gun Wednesday evening near Brookfield Square.
The driver told police he picked up four men at a motel in the Town of Brookfield and drove them to Brookfield Square at about 11 p.m.
He said he heard a metallic sound of something hitting the floor of his car and observed one of the four passengers holding a handgun in the rear-view mirror.
The driver told police he pulled over, jumped out of the car and fired four rounds at the suspects as they ran through the parking lot.
"We're not supposed to be carrying guns," said J'Gai Starks, an Uber driver who was not connected to this incident.
Starks says he usually feels pretty safe but he knows drivers who take extra precautions.
"Some people I know don’t pick up in certain areas of Milwaukee so they’ll just turn their app off until they get to where they want to be," he said.
Starks says in nearly two years of driving, he's never had a passenger threaten him, but he knows other drivers might view situations differently.
"I don’t know what it’s like for people with different life experiences than me," he said. "I might be too trusting of people naturally."
Both Uber and Lyft have a strict no firearms policy for passengers and drivers.
On its website, Lyft says, "We approach this issue from a community perspective — it’s hard to know what someone else is or isn't comfortable with. the mere presence of a weapon might make another community member distressed."
One of the passengers in the Brookfield Square incident was apprehended by police, but police say they are still looking for the other three and they should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information is asked to call the City of Brookfield Police Department at 262-787-3702.
