A man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man walking to a West Ridge synagogue is now also facing terrorism and hate crime charges, Chicago law enforcement officials announced Thursday.
New evidence indicates the 22-year-old suspect, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, “planned the shooting and specifically targeted people of Jewish faith” when he attacked the 39-year-old victim in the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue Saturday morning, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters at a news conference.
“This shooting is deeply personal to members of our Jewish community we know that, but this shooting should be personal to everyone across the city,” Snelling said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the shooting was “clearly motivated by hatred” toward the Jewish community. He said the attack was also an attack on the city.
“Antisemitism in Chicago does not reflect the soul of Chicago,” Johnson said. “Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe. No one in our city should be attacked based on their beliefs, their religion, their identity.”
After Abdallahi’s initial arrest, Jewish leaders had pushed for the suspect to be charged with a hate crime in addition to the charges he was already facing. Abdallahi was charged with six counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery, police said.
Snelling said investigators wanted to make sure there was enough evidence before adding any new charges.
“There must be sufficient evidence to support hate crimes and terrorism charges,” Snelling said. “It was important we took our time to thoroughly investigate and confirm that this was indeed a crime of that nature,” adding that the charges weren’t brought forward because of “public pressure.”
The suspect was wounded in a shootout with police officers after the attack, and he remains hospitalized, Snelling said. Unable to interview the man, investigators sifted through his phone and other digital records to find evidence to secure the charges.
The 39-year-old victim was walking about 9:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue when the man allegedly opened fire, striking the victim in the shoulder, police said.
As paramedics were rendering aid to the victim and officers were investigating the scene, the gunman emerged from an alley and fired shots at the officers, hitting a Chicago Fire Department ambulance, police said.
The gunman continued to shoot at officers multiple times from different locations as officers returned fire. He was shot multiple times, then taken into custody and transported to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.
Abdallahi was unable to make his initial court appearance Tuesday because of his injuries. His next court date was scheduled for Nov. 7.