California Uber driver shot and killed in carjacking is father of 2 and Marine who survived 3 tours in the Middle East
A California father of two and Marine Corps veteran was shot and killed while he was driving for Uber early Friday morning.
Aaron Orozco, 38, picked up two male passengers and then stopped at a 7-Eleven in Lynwood, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
"During the initial investigation, deputies learned the victim was working as a rideshare driver and had picked up two male black adults," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a press release.
The Uber driver and the two passengers got into a "physical altercation" at the 7-Eleven parking lot, according to police. Around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, one of the passengers pulled out a gun and shot Orozco in the upper torso. The father of two was pronounced dead at the crime scene.
One of the suspects fled on foot, and the other individual stole Orozco's black Honda Accord. Police found the vehicle abandoned not far from the crime scene.
The two suspects are still at large. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. You can provide an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Orozco leaves behind his wife, Sandra Medina, a 9-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter.
Medina told KTTV, "It just seems like I'm in a nightmare. It doesn’t seem real to me. I haven’t even told my kids yet, they still think dad is going to come through the door."
"I'm still in shock. I can’t believe this happened to our family. I just don’t know how to react right now, really. It’s just so hard,” the widow said.
"I just hope that they find them because they created this chaos in my life and my family's life," Medina told KABC-TV. "And, you know, now I don't have my husband with me. And, it has just changed my life around so much. So, I really hope that they do catch them."
Orozco and Medina had been married for 10 years, but were high school sweethearts.
While in the Marines, Orozco completed three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Orozco worked overnights for Uber so that he could care for their children when she worked days as a nurse. He had been an Uber driver for four years.
Uber told Fox News in a statement, "Our hearts are with Mr. Orozco Figueroa’s family as they cope with this unfathomable tragedy, and we have reached out to offer our condolences. We banned the rider’s account and are working with police on their investigation."
Uber said that the rideshare company's Public Safety team was working with detectives to bring Orozco's killer to justice.
7-Eleven is also working with police during their investigation.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to provide financial support to Orozco's family. The crowdfunding campaign had a goal of $20,000, but had raised $70,000 at the time of publication.
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'Get out before I kill you!' Carjacker presses gun against Uber driver's head — but victim doesn't allow things to go down without a fight
Video captured inside a vehicle in Houston shows a carjacker pressing a gun against an Uber driver's head and ordering him to "get out before I kill you!"
However, KRIV-TV reported that the driver wasn't about to let the crime proceed without a fight.
What are the details?
While the crime took place Oct. 18 last year, Houston Police Robbery released video of the terrifying encounter Tuesday.
KRIV said the driver — named Dovran — picked up two riders around 4 p.m. near Westheimer and South Voss Roads. The station said that during the ride, the pair changed their drop-off location to an apartment complex on Dunvale Road.
But when the driver reached that location, things turned violent, KRIV said.
One of the suspects — who wasn't wearing a mask over his face — reached forward and tried to grab Dovran's phone.
Then the second suspect — who was wearing blue surgical mask — took things further.
"The second one put a gun to my head," Dovran recalled to the station.
At that point, the first rider is seen exiting the vehicle — and Dovran told KRIV that the first rider "pulled the driver's door, and tried to pull me out, but I was holding tight."
Despite a gun being held to his head, Dovran battled back.
The station said a struggle ensued, and Dovran managed to drive off — except the gunman was still in the back seat.
"He was holding a gun to my head, he was screaming, 'Stop the car, or I'll shoot you,'" Dovran recounted to the station. "I didn't stop, and then lucky for me, he decided to jump out."
Here's video of what unfolded in the car. Content warning: Language:
\u201cDRAMATIC VIDEO!! We need your help to identify the suspects wanted in an armed robbery of a rideshare drive on Oct. 18 at 2929 Dunvale.\n\nIf you recognize them, please call @CrimeStopHOU w/info. @houstonpolice \n\nFull story at https://t.co/eJba6a6DG5\u201d— Houston Police Robbery (@Houston Police Robbery) 1672763474
KRIV said Dovran sustained only a few scratches, and a station reporter asked him how he managed to fight back and refuse the carjacker's orders with a gun pressed against his head.
"I don't know, I didn't think about it," he told the station, adding that it still was "scary."
Asked if he'd do anything differently with hindsight, Dovran told KRIV, "No."
Dovran still drives for Uber but told KRIV he's being more cautious about whom he picks up and where he does it.
Crime Stoppers is offering $5,000 for any tips leading to the suspects' arrests, the station said.
Anything else?
The station said Uber issued the following statement: "The actions of the riders shown in the video were chilling to watch, and we are grateful the driver wasn’t injured. We removed the rider’s [sic] access and have reached out to the driver to offer support. We look forward to assisting police in identifying those responsible."
KRIV noted that Uber recently rolled out a rider verification feature to add an extra layer of protection for drivers, saying that if a driver feels unsafe, the driver can end the ride immediately.
Video: Gun-toting thugs demand Uber driver exit his car in broad-daylight heist; when he refuses, one of them shoots driver dead.
Surveillance video caught the moment when two hooded individuals approached an Oakland Uber driver's car around 11 a.m. Sunday and demanded he get out, KGO-TV reported.
But when 52-year-old Kon "Patrick" Fung refused to exit his vehicle in the 2000 block of 13th Avenue, one of the suspects shot him dead and ran away from the scene, the station said, adding that police are calling it an attempted robbery.
Victim's girlfriend speaks out
Fung's girlfriend of five years told KGO about her personal tragedy in the hopes it will lead to solutions to violence plaguing the northern California city and the Bay Area.
"She's afraid to even leave her house, and she can't sleep," an interpreter for Judy — she wanted only her first name used for the story — explained to the station. "The whole incident happened in less than five seconds. In that span, she lost her boyfriend."
She added in Mandarin, "I'm so scared. I don't dare go outside. I just think of him dying," KGO said.
Judy was buying groceries in Oakland's Chinatown the morning of the killing, the station said, adding that her son heard the gunshot and told the rest of the family what happened.
She added that her boyfriend Fung was "a hard worker" and told KGO he even worked on Sundays: "It's because of his job, his hard-working trade, that he got killed."
Judy's home is near the city's Little Saigon neighborhood, the station said, adding that KGO covered a gathering there last month featuring dozens of business owners concerned about crime there and and in nearby predominately Asian areas.
"Why us? We are hard-working. We go to work, we pay our bills, but why are we being targeted over and over again? This has to stop," Judy told the station as she wiped tears away from her face.
Her interpreter told KGO that she "wants more help from the city patrolling the neighborhood. She needs more resources to make sure the safety of this neighborhood is protected. She's pleading for help to catch the two perpetrators to bring them to justice as soon as possible."
The Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council — whose president, Stewart Chen, helped translate for Judy — is assisting with a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses, the station said.
The Oakland Police Department released video footage of the killing in the hopes that the pair of suspects can be identified, KGO said, adding that police and CrimeStoppers of Oakland announced a reward of up to $12,500 for information leading to an arrest.
If you know these individuals or have information about this case, the station said to contact the Oakland Police Department Homicide Section at 510- 238-3821 or the TIP LINE at (510) 238-7950.
VIDEO: Woman attacks, coughs on Uber driver after he refuses service to her, two other women for not wearing masks
A woman was caught on video attacking an Uber driver in San Francisco and coughing on him after he refused service to her and two other women riders for not wearing masks Sunday afternoon, KPIX-TV reported.
What are the details?
San Francisco police also told the station that one of the women discharged what's believed to be pepper spray into the vehicle and toward the driver after leaving the vehicle.
The video was shot by the driver, identified as 32-year-old Subhakar Khadka, and shows women in the back seat cursing him out, KPIX said. The woman who coughed on the driver also grabbed his cellphone from the center dash area and ripped off his face mask, the station said.
Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @KPIXtv
The video begins with one woman yelling at the driver, "F*** the masks!" while pulling hers off and then coughing directly behind him. A second woman is heard saying she has "corona" and also coughs toward the driver. A third woman was wearing a mask in the clip, and all three had them, so it's not clear why all of them didn't have masks on.
The driver is heard telling the women to leave, which they don't want to do.
Here's the clip. Content warning: Profanity:
UBER DRIVER COUGHED ON, ASSAULTED & PEPPER SPRAYEDAn @Uber driver was assaulted & coughed-upon by a group of wom… https://t.co/wV2sVsfLvU— KPIX 5 (@KPIX 5)1615265964.0
Ethnic bias accusation
Khadka told KPIX he believes he was targeted because he's a South Asian immigrant.
"I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way. I don't hit people, I am not raised that way, so they were not getting out of my car," Khadka said.
KPIX said he drove to a nearby gas station so they could buy masks for the ride — but Khada said racial slurs and taunting had already commenced.
"If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them," he added to the station. "The moment I opened my mouth to speak, they realized ... it's easy for them to intimidate me."
What's more, he told the station after the woman finally got out of his vehicle, the woman in red pepper-sprayed him — and he had to get out, too, because it became hard to breathe.
San Francisco police noted to KPIX that the driver regained possession of his phone, and the three women fled after the attack.
Caught!
KPIX-TV said in a follow-up story that Las Vegas police apprehended 24-year-old Malaysia King Thursday afternoon in connection with the incident, adding that the other suspect — 24-year-old Arna Kimiai — told police through her legal counsel that she intended to turn herself into authorities.
King was charged with assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code, the station said.
The station said Kimiai posted video from her perspective behind Khadka where she claims he tried to get her and her friends to exit his car while on the freeway.
KPIX also reported that Kimiai apparently posted a video on social media following the incident. It's a bizarre one that includes much boasting about how lucky the driver was that nothing else happened to him and that Uber would be getting sued. "Where my check at?" the woman in the clip asks.
Content warning: Language:
California anti-masker who coughed on a driver says she plans to sue Uber https://t.co/IjlGs0wnRg— Fifty Shades of Whey (@Fifty Shades of Whey)1615308182.0
'Relief'
"It's a sign of relief we are getting there and we are one step closer," Khadka told KPIX after getting word about King's arrest. "I believe they should be lawfully punished – whatever our law says over here."
What's more, a GoFundMe campaign set up for Khadka has eclipsed the $71,000 mark as of Friday afternoon.
"I am blown away seeing that from community," he told the station. "I would like to use it for attorney fees if I may need in future, and some of that money will go toward family maintenance."
Khadka's wife and son are in his native country of Nepal, KPIX said, adding that he uses money earned while Uber driving to help support them.
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