Man who shot Uber driver in Seattle had 7-8 shots of tequila before accidentally firing gun

SEATTLE -- The man who shot his Uber driver in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood early Monday morning told police he'd had seven or eight shots of tequila before he called an Uber then accidentally shot his driver as he was getting out of the vehicle, according to court documents.

Chad Strode, 35, has been charged with assault in the third degree for the shooting. He's being held on a $100,000 bail.

The Uber driver and shooting victim, a 29-year-old man, remains in ICU in serious condition, but he's expected to survive, court documents state.



The shooting happened about 3:15 a.m. Monday, when Strode called 911 and said he'd shot someone. Officers arrived found Strode kneeling on the ground with his hands in the air. The gun he used to shoot the Uber driver was on top of the vehicle.

Strode told police he was intoxicated and had several shots of Tequila at a park on Capitol Hill before he called an Uber. He asked the driver to pull over at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Mercer Street so he could walk the rest of the way home.

Strode said as he was exiting the vehicle, his gun -- which he has a permit to conceal and carry -- fired as he got out of the car. The gun was not in a holster. It was in the waistband of his pants, court documents state.

The Uber driver was shot in the back and didn't know he had been shot initially. He told police he thought something exploded in his car.