Atlanta Police say an UberEATS driver accused of shooting and killing a customer has turned himself in.
The shooting happened late Saturday night on Pharr Court South at The Concorde Condominiums in Buckhead.
According to police, a man identified by the medical examiner as 30-year-old Ryan Thornton of Atlanta, ordered food Saturday, Feb. 17 using the UberEATS app. As he was walking away from the driver around 11:30 p.m., words were exchanged between the two.
Fatal Uber Eats shooting
That's when police say the driver fired several shots, striking Thornton several times. The driver fled the scene in a white Volkswagen.
Thornton was taken to Grady Hospital in critical condition and later died.
On Monday, Atlanta Police said they secured an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Robert Bivines for felony murder. Bivines’ attorney has indicated to investigators that he planned to turn himself in to investigators on Monday afternoon. He will be transported to the Fulton County Jail for charges related to Thornton's murder.
UberEATS is a smartphone app used to order takeout food from restaurants. Drivers for the company pick up the food and deliver it to the customer. According to company policy, all drivers have to have passed a background check performed by a third-party company, which looks back seven years. Bivines did, and had only been a courier for about a week with Uber before the incident.
“We are shocked and saddened by this news," said an Uber spokesperson. "We are working with Atlanta Police, and our hearts go out to the families of those involved.”
11Alive reached out to family, who did not wish to speak publicly just yet. However, Thornton's uncle told 11Alive "Ryan was a good boy." The 30-year-old had just graduated from Morehouse College in May with a degree in political science and recently got a new job. Family said Thornton was the only child to his mother, who also lost her husband unexpectedly three years ago.
