Antisemitic Shooter Searched For Jewish Sites Before Attempted Murder, Prosecutors Say

CHICAGO — The man facing terrorism and hate crime charges over last month's shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man in West Rogers Park had mapped out synagogues and Jewish schools in the days leading up to last month's attack, prosecutors said Friday during a detention hearing.

Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, a Mauritanian national, was ordered jailed while awaiting trial on charges including hate crime, terrorism and attempted murder in what authorities described as a calculated and premeditated act of antisemitic violence.

Abdallahi shot and wounded a man who was walking to the synagogue, then opened fire at police and paramedics who had been called to the scene near the intersection of West Farwell and North Washtenaw avenues, according to prosecutors.

The 39-year-old shooting survivor heard footsteps behind him before being struck by a bullet in the shoulder, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said. The man initially did not realize he had been shot until he saw the hole in his jacket.

Abdallahi first began to run away, but after his victim shouted out that he had been shot, the gunman ran back at him and pointed the gun at him again, prosecutors said. This time, he was halted when he was apparently unable to clear a round from his jammed pistol.

A chaotic shootout with police resulted in Abdallahi striking a Chicago Fire Department ambulance with two bullets before officers shot him in the back of the head, lower back, left thigh, left forearm, left knee and upper right thigh, according to the state's attorney's office.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston before making his first court appearance in Chicago four weeks later.

Prosecutors said Abdallahi meticulously planned the attack, saving routes to synagogues on his phone and searching the internet for Jewish community centers and a shooting range in Lyons the days leading up to the shooting.

A court-authorized search of his phone also turned up more than 100 antisemitic images and videos, according to Rodgers.

After shooting the man and running away, Abdallahi ditched the high-visibility vest he had been wearing, returned to his car and drove it around before parking in the 2700 block of West Morse Avenue and walking back toward the shooting scene, where four officers were checking for evidence.

Video shows Abdallahi come out of an alley, draw a gun and fire two shots at the officers before running away again, the prosecutor said. He then exchanged gunfire with the officer who was protecting a pair of fire department paramedics and the shooting victim

The gunman continued to fire at police from different alleys, even after being shot several times, until he stopped moving and was taken into custody.

Arguing before Cook County Circuit Judge Susan Ortiz that Abdallahi is a danger of the public if released while ahead of his trial, Rodgers characterized the shooting as an "attempted assassination," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Abdallahi's court-appointed defense attorney, Josh Thigpen, told the judge that he worked at an Amazon warehouse and had been in the country for "at least two years," the Sun-Times reported.

However, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told Patch last month that he had been "encountered by U.S. Border Patrol on March 31, 2023, near San Ysidro, California."

The hate crime and terrorism charges were added after investigators found evidence of his antisemitic motives and intent to intimidate the Jewish community.

Under Illinois law, terrorism includes acts of violence intended to “intimidate or coerce a significant portion of a civilian population.”

Ortiz characterized the shooting as "a calculated plan on a public street involving someone’s religious affiliation and an attempted slaughter of a member of that community,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Abdallahi faces a maximum sentence in excess of 100 years in prison if convicted of the charges he faces. ICE officials have filed paperwork to have him deported should he be released from custody. He is due back in court Dec. 6 for an arraignment and the assignment of a judge.

Read more:

• Terrorism, Hate Crime Charges Filed Over Shooting Of Jewish Man In West Rogers Park
• Gunman Shoots Jewish Man, Fires At Police As He Shouts 'Allahu Akbar'; Hate Crime Probed