A gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire on a Jewish man walking to a Chicago synagogue, sparking a shocking shootout with police on a sleepy residential street.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, originally from Mauritania, was arrested on Saturday after opening fire on the victim as he walked to a local synagogue, hitting him in the shoulder.
When police arrived on the scene, Abdallahi exchanged a flurry of gunfire with police, which only ended when the shooter was hit multiple times. No officers were injured.
After Abdallahi’s arrest, law enforcement sources told the New York Post that he was an illegal immigrant who arrived from West Africa in March 2023.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, seen on home security footage shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he exchanged a flurry of gunfire with police in Chicago after randomly shooting a Jewish man
Officers seen at the scene after the shooting, in which Abdallahi was hit several times
When Abdallahi crossed the southern border last year, sources said he was screened by border agents before being released into the US.
Jewish leaders say they believe Abdallahi’s attack was anti-Semitic in nature and took place in the West Ridge neighborhood, home to a number of synagogues.
The victim, a 39-year-old Jewish man whose name has not been released, was attacked Saturday morning as he walked to a synagogue while wearing a yarmulke, a traditional Jewish head covering.
He was hit in the shoulder but survived, and police and paramedics rushed to the scene to find Abdallahi still in the street with his weapon.
A terrifying gun battle with police soon ensued as Abdallahi reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar”, with footage showing a large number of bullets being fired into the sleepy street.
Footage later showed the 22-year-old being wheeled away from the scene in a stretcher after being shot multiple times. He was hospitalized and his first detention hearing on Tuesday was postponed for a week as he was still recovering in intensive care.
Footage later showed the 22-year-old being wheeled away from the scene in a stretcher after being shot multiple times
Jewish leaders say they believe the incident was a targeted anti-Semitic attack, with the shooting taking place in an area where there were many synagogues and the victim wearing a yarmulke at the time.
Although Abdallahi now faces charges including attempted first-degree murder, local leaders in Chicago have condemned law enforcement for claiming that Abdallahi should be charged with a hate crime.
“We have faith in God, but we are afraid of us; this shooting a few days ago was not just an act of violence,” said Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, executive director of the Chicago Rabbinical Council.
“It wasn’t just a shooting on the streets of Chicago. “If a visibly Jewish individual is shot without provocation in an otherwise pleasant neighborhood on the way to the synagogue, we are terrorized.”
David Goldenberg, director of the Midwest Regional Anti-Defamation League, also called on Chicago police to “conduct a thorough investigation into the motives of these heinous crimes, including adding charges where appropriate.”
“Saturday’s crime feels like a hate crime. Regardless of where the investigation ends up, Chicago’s Jewish community is shocked. And Saturday’s shooting is just the latest,” Goldenberg said.
David Goldenberg, director of the Midwest regional Anti-Defamation League, sparked outrage from the Jewish community by calling for Abdallahi to be charged with hate crimes
“The reason the CPD knows the Jewish community so well is because it needs to know the Jewish community because of the increased threat that the Jewish community faces day in and day out.”
Calls to charge the 22-year-old with a hate crime reached all the way to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who said in a statement that he was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting and that “the shooter’s motivation deserves punishment . full and thorough investigation to determine whether this should be additionally charged as a hate crime.”
When Abdallahi was stopped at the border last year, authorities found no criminal or terrorist ties, sources told the New York Post.
Abdallahi told officers he was going to live with a friend in Indiana, and although he initially said he was not afraid of being sent back to Mauritania, he later applied for asylum, the newspaper said.