Clearwater police are investigating an incident from Sunday night that involved an Uber driver alledgedly shooting a passenger after a disagreement.
Police claim the shooting happened inside the Uber vehicle that was stopped at Mandalay Avenue around 10 p.m. The driver, 74-year-old Steven Rayow, had picked up the passenger, 60-year-old Marc Mermel, in that location when the two began to argue which turned into a physical altercation, with the passenger choking the driver at one point during the argument, according to police.
The driver, who has a concealed weapons permit, proceeded to pull a gun from his waist area. As the struggle continued inside of the vehicle, the gun was fired, striking the passenger in the foot. Mermel was then treated for the gunshot wound at a locoal St. Joseph’s affiliated hospital.
This investigation is ongoing, and Police did not say what charges where pending, or if any are pending at all.