Naperville man charged with recklessly firing gun in air, endangering man’s safety

A Naperville man has been charged with pointing a handgun at another man and firing a gun into the air.

Shahbaz Chaudhry, 25, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault in connection with the incident that occurred on Tuesday.

At 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to the 2600 block of St. Albans Circle in response to reports of shots fired and a person who was armed, according to a statement from the Naperville Police Department.

There were no reports of injuries from the shooting, police said.

Officers were able to use statements from witnesses to narrow the scope of the search of the suspect to the 2500 block of Durango Lane, police said.

Chaudhry, who lives in the 2500 block of Durango Lane, was arrested and a handgun was recovered, police said. Chaudhry was later booked into the Will County jail about 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday.

Naperville police Cmdr. Michaus Williams said Chaudhry does have a firearm owner’s identification card.

When asked about why Chaudhry was armed with a gun and firing it, Williams said, “We cannot speak to his motive.”

Chaudhry was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly pointing the handgun at another man, giving him the reasonable fear of getting shot, and then recklessly firing the gun into the air.

Chaudhry endangered the other man’s safety when he recklessly fired the gun into the air, according to a criminal complaint.

Judge Donald DeWilkins set Chaudhry’s bond at $25,000. Chaudhry was able to post 10% of that amount and he was released from jail shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.