Jason Dalton.

The Michigan Uber driver charged with murdering six people last
month in a shooting spree in the southwestern part of the state will undergo a
competency exam, the prosecuting attorney said on Thursday.

Jason Dalton, 45, is charged with shooting eight people, killing
six of them, over a five-hour period on Feb. 20 in between driving customers
for the Uber [UBER.UL] car service in Kalamazoo, Michigan, about 150 miles (240
km) west of Detroit. He faces 16 charges, including six of murder that can
bring life in prison.

A judge granted a request by Dalton’s attorney for a competency
exam for the suspect, Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Getting
told reporters following a 45-minute probable-cause hearing that was closed to
the public.

Dalton’s attorney, Eusebio Solis, declined to comment after the
hearing at the Kalamazoo County 8th District Court.

A hearing had been scheduled for March 10, but will be delayed
until May 10 if not sooner, depending on when the competency exam is completed,
Getting said.

Getting said weighing a person’s competency to stand trial had
no bearing on his criminal responsibility for a crime and that the move was not
to determine whether Dalton was legally insane.

With the police investigation continuing, Getting declined to
discuss Dalton’s motive. Getting also declined to say whether Dalton was on any
kind of suicide watch.

Dalton is being held in Kalamazoo County Jail. Bail was denied
last week after a court hearing in which a detective testified that Dalton had
admitted to the shooting rampage.

A lawyer for Dalton’s wife, Carole, said Jason Dalton had been
depressed in the days before the shooting spree, but offered no further
explanation. Dalton’s family has previously said they were devastated by the
news and saddened for the victims and their families.

Carole
Dalton subsequently filed for divorce. The couple have been married since 1995
and have a 15-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.