Jewish community calls for hate crime charges after man shot walking to West Ridge synagogue (2024)

A Far South Side man is accused of following and shooting a man walking to a West Ridge synagogue over the weekend and then opening fire on police and paramedics, sparking an exchange of gunfire that left the suspect critically wounded.

Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, was charged with six counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated battery, police said.

A motive remained unclear for the attack, which happened about 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue, and left Abdallahi in critical condition after officers shot him, police said.

During a Monday afternoon news conference at Chicago Public Safety Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling was asked why hate crime charges hadn’t been filed.

Snelling said investigators have not been able to talk to the suspect because he remains hospitalized. The suspect said something while exchanging gunfire with police, but the superintendent said they are not ready to file hate crime charges until they gather all the facts.

“We’re continuing to investigate the motive,” said Snelling, who said charges depend on “what we can prove.”

It was not clear exactly what the suspect said to the officers, but Snelling said he didn’t “say a word” before shooting the 39-year-old man.

“We understand the concerns around this incident, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that the community is safe,” said Snelling. “There’s been a lot of information circulating about the shooting, and we ask that the public not rush to judgment in this situation.”

Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), who also attended the news conference, said that victim belongs to the same synagogue she does. She told the Sun-Times earlier the shooting victim was a 39-year-old Orthodox Jewish man wearing a kippah on his way to services.

“Notably, and despite evidence that seems to suggest an antisemitic motive for the shooting, authorities did not file hate crime charges,” Silverstein said in a statement.

“I am very disappointed by this turn of events and strongly encourage the Cook County State’s Attorney Office to prosecute the offender to the full extent of the law. The police have assured me that they are continuing to gather evidence, and additional charges — including hate crime charges — can still be added,"Silverstein said.

Silverstein added that the victim, who declined to speak with the Sun-Times, was doing well, and she has already met with him. His spirits are “good” but he still has to see several doctors, she said.

The attack has been harmful to the West Ridge community, which has a significant Jewish population.

“The Jewish community is always on high alert, and this is just adding to our anxiety,” Silverstein said.

The 39-year-old victim was walking about 9:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue when a man following him 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, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.

Monday afternoon, the neighborhood was quiet, with no signs of the violence that occurred two days before.

Aydin Dincer, a neighborhood resident, said he watched the shootout between the gunman and police from the back of his home. He said the gunman was wearing a bright jacket and was not cooperating with police orders before violence again broke out.

But Dincer said the incident didn’t deter residents of the neighborhood from living their lives.

“Next day, we were all out in the street,” he said. “Just another day, not that this happens all the time, but you just move on.”

Moving on, though, is a little harder for one Orthodox Jewish resident, who declined to share his name for privacy and safety concerns. He was not home during the shooting, but his wife was, and the shootout between police and the gunman happened near his front yard.

“It’s a nightmare scenario that everyone kind of plays in their head when they’re walking around to synagogue,” he said. “It’s just really scary.”

The resident also said he and others are frustrated with the lack of a hate crime charge. “We found that to be kind of infuriating.”

Kris Smart, another neighborhood resident, said she worries about her neighbors and the possibility the victim might have been singled out because of his faith.

But Smart also said she believes the way the community came together to protect each other — including a resident who helped get the victim to safety — shows the true spirit of the neighborhood and its residents.

“This is not indicative of our neighborhood,” she said about the violence. “It’s a peaceful, wonderful place.”

Abdallahi, of Roseland, was scheduled for a detention hearing Tuesday.

Jewish community calls for hate crime charges after man shot walking to West Ridge synagogue (2024)
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