One former private investigator is taking ride-sharing to a new level - by launching his own application that offers armed drivers that provide peace of mind for customers.
Atlanta-based "Black Wolf" allows riders to request armed drivers, and in the first week since it was launched, there were already around 80,000 downloads according to Atlanta News First.
"I kind of created this app to be very exclusive," app owner, Kerry KingBrown, said during "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday.
"I'm not competing with Uber, not competing with Lyft because we have a different path. We have a different goal, and our goal is to make sure that we secure each rider."
NEW YORK CITY BLOCK HIRES PRIVATE SECURITY GUARDS AMID CRIME WAVE
"We wanted to create something for security and safety for all riders," he continued. "We want to remove the stigma of… things happening in these vehicles with these riders, so that's why I created the Black Wolf app."
According to the Black Wolf website, the service officers armed drivers, unarmed drivers and school shuttle drivers.
The services are designed for "corporate executives, high-net-worth individuals, celebrities, women, school kids, and regular people who want peace of mind in this crazy world," it reads.
"By providing passengers with an Executive Protection Driver trained in private security, we offer affordable unprecedented protection and peace of mind to anyone who needs a lift," it continued.
FORMER NYC TOP COP SAYS HIS OWN WIFE WAS ASSAULTED IN MANHATTAN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AMID RISING CRIME
But KingBrown isn't recruiting just anyone to work for the exclusive ride-sharing company. He has pinpointed a very specific type of employee with expertise in security and public safety.
"I'm making this very exclusive, and I'm making it to the point where I'm setting a standard of those who we're recruiting," KingBrown said.
"So I've made it known that those who've been in the security field, military, law enforcement, those are the guys who we are recruiting. Those are our top priorities, making sure that we are recruiting the right people for our clients and our riders."
KingBrown, who is also a former bodyguard with more than a decade of experience in the security industry, detailed the community's "great response" since he launched the app.
He said potential clients from around the world, including places like Canada, Germany and Switzerland, have contacted him to inquire about the app's unique services.
He noted that despite the variation in each state's gun laws, recruiting the right employees with public safety backgrounds has made the operations process easier.
"In each state they have their own rules and… I'm from New York, so I understand we have to move very strategically," KingBrown said. "And a good thing is we've been getting a lot of hits from a lot of our NYPD officers, which makes it a little bit easier."
"And also as well as contacting… local security companies in New York, but most of them have been retired NYPD officers, which allows us to now recruit those type of drivers for our clients. It's making it a little bit easier seeing that we're getting the right applications," he continued.
The homicide rate in the U.S. has seen a rapid increase during the past few years.
In a recent study, WalletHub compared 45 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q4 2022, as well as per capita homicides in Q4 2022 vs. Q4 2021 and Q4 2020.
The top five worst cities for homicide, beginning with No. 1, are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Las Vegas and Kansas City, Mo.
Fox News' Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
