Uber Driver Won't Face Charges for Shooting Chicago Gunman
A Chicago Uber driver won’t face charges for shooting a man who opened fire into a crowd in Logan Square over the weekend, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The gunman, 22-year-old Everardo Custodio, fired shots at a group of people walking in front of the driver’s car. The driver drew his own gun and fired at Custodio six times, hitting him in the “shin, thigh and lower back,” the Trib reports.
No one else was hurt.
Police responding to the scene found Custodio wounded on the ground and determined the unnamed 47-year-old driver had a concealed carry permit and a license for his gun.
Prosecutors declined to charge the driver because “he acted in defense of himself and others.” Custodio was charged with aggravated assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
Uber told the Chicago Sun-Times it will interview the driver and the passenger he was carrying during the incident.
Uber’s official policy prohibits drivers to carry guns except where allowed by state law, but it’s practically impossible for the company to regulate all its independent contractors across dozens of cities. One driver who claims to carry a gun told the New York Observer his car has never been inspected, and, in fact, he’s never even met an Uber employee.
If the company wanted to ban guns altogether, it wouldn’t be without precedent: NYC cab drivers aren’t allowed to carry licensed firearms on the job—although many want to, and livery trade groups have repeatedly petitioned the Taxi and Limousine Commission on their behalf.
[h/t Chicago Tribune, Photo of Custodio via Cook County Sheriff’s Office]