FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Thanksgiving night came to a violent end for one Uber driver.<\/p>\n
Police said a 40-year-old man driving for the rideshare app picked up a passenger a little after 8 p.m. on Thursday near South Tupman Street in southwest Fresno.<\/p>\n
The driver and passenger had a disagreement and that’s when things took a violent turn.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Uber driver hospitalized following shooting in Fresno, police say<\/a><\/p>\n Police said the passenger exited the vehicle and shot at the driver multiple times. With at least one bullet striking the driver in the head.<\/p>\n The 40-year-old drove a block away and called the police.<\/p>\n “This is an isolated incident. This isn’t like a multitude attack on rideshare. It’s very tragic that this happened when somebody was providing a service that benefits the community in general, especially around Thanksgiving and holidays,” said Lt. Alfonso Castillo.<\/p>\n The news of Thursday’s attack has local rideshare drivers on edge.<\/p>\n “I was literally planning on going out to give rides yesterday, Thanksgiving night. And I just thought, hey, I just want to spend time with family,” said Fresno Uber driver Vikaas Shanker.<\/p>\n Vikaas Shanker has been driving for Uber for almost ten years.<\/p>\n He feels like the rideshare app does a good job protecting its drivers with emergency capabilities but hopes more is done.<\/p>\n “I think the protection can maybe come on the end of making sure that the people who are coming into my car are people who are not going to harm me,” said Shanker.<\/p>\n John Heffron could have used that extra layer of protection in February when he was attacked by a passenger.<\/p>\n “He reaches from behind me and starts punching on my head and my face. And I’m trying to fend it off,” said Heffron.<\/p>\n The passenger exited Heffron’s vehicle.<\/p>\n Heffron said he called the police and filed a report but still no arrest has been made.<\/p>\n Action News reached out to Uber in regard to Thursday’s incident and it responded with the following statement:<\/p>\n “Our thoughts are with the driver as he recovers from this horrific incident. We removed the rider’s access to Uber and stand ready to support law enforcement with their investigation.”<\/p>\n For news updates, follow Vince Ybarra on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2025 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n