An illegal immigrant who shot a Jewish man in Chicago on Saturday is facing felony hate crime and terrorism charges.
Sidi Mohammed Abdullahi, 22, has also been charged with 14 felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and attempted murder of a police officer, after the Saturday morning incident, according to WLS-TV.
The victim was wearing a yarmulke and was shot without the gunman saying anything to him. The 39-year-old man is expected to recover, police said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Abdullahi could not be interviewed about his motivation because he was hospitalized after trading shots with police, leading to a delay in the hate crime charges being filed.
Illegal migrant accused of shooting Jewish man heading to Chicago synagogue charged with hate crime, terrorism https://t.co/8IZBeCQxjt pic.twitter.com/jueEJs4Vwd
— New York Post (@nypost) November 1, 2024
“Evidence from the offender’s phone indicated he planned the shooting and specifically targeted people of Jewish faith,” Snelling said.
The American Jewish Committee released a statement, saying, “Since Saturday, Chicago’s Jewish community has been seeking reassurance that authorities were investigating this attack as a hate crime because we were deeply concerned that a member of our community was violently targeted. With that said, we continue to urge a thorough investigation so that justice can be served.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against Abdullahi with the Cook County Jail, according to Newsweek.
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“Mohamed Abdallahi was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol on March 31, 2023, near San Ysidro, California,” a representative of ICE said. Abdullahi is a citizen of Mauritania.
Some witnesses have said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is greater,” as the victim was shot.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the incident began when the victim was shot from behind at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday
After police responded, they were shot at by a suspect who emerged from an alley.
Police and the suspect exchanged gunshots until the suspect was critically wounded.
Last month, the FBI reported that during 2023, it recorded 1,832 hate crimes against Jewish people, up 63 percent from 2022 and the highest ever recorded since data was first collected in 1991, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL noted that hate crimes against Jewish people made up 15 percent of all hate crimes in 2023 and 68 percent of hate crimes where religion was a factor.
“At a time when the Jewish community is still suffering from the sharp rise in anti-Semitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the record-high number of anti-Jewish hate crime incidents is unfortunately entirely consistent with the Jewish community’s experience and ADL’s tracking,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.
“Hate crimes are uniquely harmful, traumatizing both the individual and their community,” he said.
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