This Man Attempted Mass Murder In Chicago This Weekend But He’s Only Being Charged With Aggravated Assault

This a doubly interesting story but it begins with 22-year-old Everardo Custodio firing wildly into a crowd in Logan Square this last weekend. It ends with an Uber driver and conceal and carry permit holder shooting Custodio several times and ending his attempted rampage.

But here’s where things get odd, Custodio isn’t being charged with attempted murder for firing into that crowd of people in Logan Circle. He’s being charged with the far lesser violations of “aggravated assault and unlawful use of a weapon.” This despite him clearly attempting to kill or at least injure numerous persons which only his inability to shoot straight prevented. While it’s fortunate that the undisclosed Uber driver was around to put a stop to the situation, one has to wonder why authorities decided on these lesser charges.

The Uber driver was let go by police after questioning and was deemed to have acted “in self-defense and in the defense of others” when he shot Custodio with a shotgun. 2015 is the first year that Chicago has allowed citizens to attain permits to lawfully conceal and carry handguns. 84.3% of all homicides in Chicago are committed with a gun.