Gang Leader Killed Four Drivers Because His Mom's Uber Was Canceled

Source: JUAN BARRETO / Getty

Gang Leader Killed Four Drivers Because His Mom’s Ride Was Canceled

A gang leader in Brazil ended up having four rideshare drivers killed–all because he was angry that his sick mother’s Uber ride was canceled.

According to reports from the UK Guardian, the drivers (who worked for Uber and the local transit firm 99) were all tortured and killed behind a shack in the northeastern city of Salvador on December 13. A fifth driver was going to meet the same devastating fate, but made a daring escape into a nearby swamp and called the police.

“The gangster ordered these people killed because his mother called Uber, but the car never arrived,” said Rui Costa, governor of Bahia, according to the publication.

The victim who got away told a local television station that he was called to the neighborhood for a pickup, and once he arrived, was then forced out of his car at gunpoint and led behind a shack, which is where he saw the other drivers being tortured. He managed to escape when another driver snatched a pistol away from one of the kidnappers.

Police confronted two suspects and ended up killing them in a shootout on the same day the drivers were kidnapped. The gang leader in question–who has not been named–was found shot to death on Monday. Cops are still investigating a motive for the crime, but said that “one line of inquiry points towards revenge against the drivers after a trip was refused.”

Uber offered its condolences on Thursday with a spokeswoman for the firm saying, “Uber deeply regrets this brutal and shocking crime.”