Cincinnati Taxi Driver Taken Into Custody After Shooting Passenger Over Fare to Kentucky Outside Heritage Bank Center

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CINCINNATI, OH — A private taxi driver is in custody after police say he shot his passenger during an argument over the fare for a ride to northern Kentucky Tuesday night, leaving the man with life-threatening injuries outside Heritage Bank Center downtown.

The shooting happened near the intersection of East Pete Rose Way and Broadway Street, as reported by FOX19 and Local 12. Local 12 put the time at about 7:20 p.m., while FOX19 placed it around 7:30 p.m.

Central Business Section Police Captain David Schofield told FOX19 at the scene that the driver and the passenger argued over a fare to Kentucky. The argument did not end there. The driver shot the passenger moments later, Schofield alleged. Local 12 reported that police said a preliminary investigation showed a private cab driver shot a passenger during a dispute over a fare.

Cincinnati police spokesperson Brad Underwood said the wounded man was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Underwood said the suspect is in custody.

The two men were not alone. FOX19 reported that a third person was in the vehicle at the time. WHIO, citing its news partner WCPO, reported that police said a woman was in the car. No other injuries were reported. Police have not released the names of the driver or the passenger.

Driving strangers for money is one of the more exposed jobs out there. I have covered numerous stories of rideshare drivers being robbed, and I understand why so many people who drive for a living choose to carry. You are alone with someone you do not know, often after dark, with your back to them and your hands on the wheel.

That is exactly why the mindset behind the gun matters. A firearm carried for work is there for the robbery or the attack. It is not there to settle what someone owes.

Whether this shooting was justified is an open question. None of the reports describe what the passenger did between the argument and the shot. They do not say whether he threatened the driver, got physical, or showed a weapon. Police have called the driver the suspect and taken him into custody. That is what is known right now.

Deadly force is justified only against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. A dispute over money does not meet that standard on its own, no matter how heated it gets. If the passenger attacked the driver or produced a weapon, the analysis changes. If he only argued about the price, it does not.

More from USA Carry:

• Armed Robber Hails Wrong Ride: Driver Hands Over Bullets, Not Bills
• Taxi Driver Shoots and Kills Passenger in Altercation
• [Watch] Armed Charlotte Bus Driver in Shootout with Passenger
• Concealed Carrier Gets Gun and Permit Confiscated for Not Informing LEO
• Taxi Driver Forced to Shoot Passenger After Repeated Blows to the Head

Force has levels, and the gun sits at the top. Below it are the options that cost nothing but a fare. End the ride. Let the passenger out. Create distance. Call the police. An unpaid fare is a loss you can report. A shot fired cannot be undone.

No charges have been announced, and police say the shooting remains under investigation. The driver has been taken into custody, not convicted, and prosecutors will decide what charges, if any, he faces.

Read the original story: Cincinnati Taxi Driver Taken Into Custody After Shooting Passenger Over Fare to Kentucky Outside Heritage Bank Center