UNHAPPY POOH BIRD: Would-be spree killer gets shot by Uber driver with CCW; story comments are priceless

Chicago (Tribune) – Authorities say no charges will be filed against an Uber driver who shot and wounded a gunman who opened fire on a crowd of people in Logan Square over the weekend.

The driver had a concealed-carry permit and acted in the defense of himself and others, Assistant State’s Attorney Barry Quinn said in court Sunday.

A group of people had been walking in front of the driver around 11:50 p.m. in the 2900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue when Everardo Custodio, 22, began firing into the crowd, Quinn said.

The driver pulled out a handgun and fired six shots at Custodio, hitting him several times, according to court records. Responding officers found Custodio lying on the ground, bleeding, Quinn said. No other injuries were reported.

Rumor has it the Uber driver had a Springfield XD .45 auto and displayed some fairly respectable marksmanship against Everardo (now Custodio-Perferatio).  Sadly, Everardo didn’t succumb to his wounds.

The story is amazing, in that the Chicago Tribune ran such a story in.  The Tribune, like the financially struggling Chicago Sun-Times, has been such a vehement (bordering on rabid at the Sun-Times) opponent to gun ownership and right-to-carry.  It must have hurt to include such a story in their paper.  (No word if the Sun-Times ran the story as well.  I would think they would, but with cutbacks…)

Some of the comments in the Tribune were priceless.  We had no idea there was such profound ignorance when it comes to deadly force law, gun ownership and so forth.  Many Chicago residents really do have some learning to do and Guns Save Life is undertaking that mission, starting with our first meeting slated for Saturday, May 30th at 4pm.  The location is pending and we hope to release it in the coming days when it’s confirmed.

Here are some of those comments:

michaeljbusse626
this incident is a good example of the hazards of the 2d amendment and subsequent soft-headed laws like concealed-carry permits in a densely populated environment:

while a private citizen may use deadly force to protect himself from the threat of deadly force–a private citizen is not entitled to use deadly force in defense of others–that is the job of the police only–instead, the Uber driver acts as a vigilante that unnecessarily adds to gun violenceon our streets– the States Attorney’s office is WRONG to not charge the driver with attempt murder, the result of which encourages other under-educated,trigger -happy nitwits to try to try their hand a t more public gunplay
Concealed carry laws are counterproductive–the 2d amendment should be repealed!

Some people can’t resist the opportunity to articulate their utter ignorance to the whole wide world.  Ignorance really is bliss!

jjb219
Read the comments on this thread – people seem to think concealed carry is needed because “police can’t help us” – or they wish the criminal who was shot had been killed. In other words, many people seem to think we need concealed carry holders to do the job of the police and the courts. That’s vigilantism.
If you think differently, and that concealed carry holders aren’t NEEDED to combat crime, good for you. We agree.

jjb219
@Photoman55 You are confusing the right to defend yourself with the need for citizens to be armed.
We have a police force not to stop all and every crime as it occurs – that is impossible. We have a police force whose presence, combined with the threat of punishment for breaking the law and getting caught – deters crime.
The world the gun proponents envision is one where we need to defend ourselves because the idea of deterrence has failed.
That’s the world that we are heading towards, and it’s a world that pits citizen against citizen, and citizens against the police. But all of those armed citizens are indeed vigilantes in the truest sense of the word.
That is not a promising future. An armed society is ultimately a less safe society. Keeping guns is inherently more dangerous, and expecting citizens to be responsible and safe is a fantasy.
I’m not arguing against the right to keep weapons. I argue that it’s a bad idea.

Yep.  The deterrence created by the police and getting caught certainly worked for this poohbag.  The thing that stopped this thug with a gun was a good guy with a gun.

empeejay
To the gun obsessed: Just so you know, posting links to the rare story where vigilante cc wins the day is not changing opponents’ minds. We have devolved into a violent society where personal safety is a roll of the dice. That is amped up by the availability of guns, whether obtained legally or illegally. A society armed against itself is doomed.

Rare?  What’s rare is that shots were fired.  Usually coward criminals flee at the first sign of an armed good guy.

CPDman
After listening to these ridiculous arguments for and against conceal carry, I have to put in my 2 cents, for what that’s worth. As a 16 year member of the CPD, I can tell you that conceal carry is a huge mistake. There’s people running around without proper training (the training they get is basically a joke) taking enforcement matters into their own hands, and getting involved in situations they don’t belong. CCW people are a major hindrance, not help, to law enforcement activity. I can tell you at least a dozen stories of how these conceal carry clowns have gotten themselves into situations where they have escalated the violence instead of tamping it down. And road rage? Yes, it does happen, although most times the CCW person just takes out his/her gun and waves it around. But that is intimidation, and these people thrive on intimidation. “Harleys and guns” is spot on in his assessment. Sorry to rain on your gun worshiping parade.

I suspect either this is a police impersonator or this guy got his job because he’s the cousin of an Alderman.

Pat Brady
It must be fun living in the Wild West, with the gunfights in the street and everything.

And a rebuttal to Pat Brady:

robertg2221
@Pat Brady In Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Dodge City, and Caldwell, for the years from 1870 to 1885, there were only 45 total homicides. This equates to a rate of approximately 1 murder per 100,000 residents per year.
In Abilene, supposedly one of the wildest of the cow towns, not a single person was killed in 1869 or 1870.

A quick look at 2007 Uniform Crime Report statistics shows us the following in guncontrol “paradise” cities of the east:

DC – 183 Murders (31 per 100,000 residents)
New York – 494 Murders (6 per 100,000 residents)
Baltimore – 281 Murders (45 per 100,000 residents)
Newark – 104 Murders (37 per 100,000 residents)

So what was that about the wild west.

Harleys, guns, and more guns
I wonder why they don’t talk about the negatives to conceal carry cowards? You know, little things like:

-Dramatic increase in suicides
-More frequent and deadly road rage incidents
-Escalation of arguments from shouting to shooting
-Many more opportunities to lose or steal guns
-Overall increase in gun violence and murder

…and much more. oh wait, that’s right. None of these fit into the NRA’s fantasy stories.

Oh Harleys:  Just because you think it or write it, doesn’t make it so!