New video shows police scrambling to find the gunman who shot a man as he was walking to synagogue in West Rogers Park.
Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability released bodycam footage of a shooting in West Rogers Park that targeted a Jewish man walking to synagogue in late October.
The shooting occurred moments after officers responded to calls of a person shot on Oct. 26 in the 6800 block of North Washtenaw Avenue.
As paramedics were rendering aid to the victim, officers and paramedics were fired upon by 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, with bodycam footage showing first responders scrambling before multiple officers open fire towards Abdallahi, striking him.
Bodycam footage shows officers scrambling upon hearing gunfire from Abdallahi before officers return fire.
Abdallahi faced hate crime and terrorism charges after surviving the initial incident, but later died by suicide while in custody at the Cook County Jail.
"We want everybody to know that we will never tolerate violence that's rooted in hate and bigotry," Snelling said during a press conference announcing the charges.
The shooting took place at around 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 26 in the 2600 block of W. Farwell, police said, when Abdallahi allegedly opened fire on a 39-year-old man who was walking to synagogue.
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Ald. Debra Silverstein, of the city's 50th Ward, had previously said the victim was wearing a kippah at the time of the attack and noted the community where the shooting took place, West Rogers Park, has a large Orthodox Jewish population.
The gunman then fired at responding officers and paramedics multiple times from various locations, police said, with officers returning fire and striking him. No members of the Chicago Police or Fire Departments were injured, police said.
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Snelling said Abdallahi remains hospitalized in wake of the shooting, and detectives have been unable to interview him, making it particularly difficult to determine a motive.
"Because they haven't been able to interview the shooter, detectives used digital evidence," Snelling said, adding that evidence from Abdallahi's phone "indicated he planned the shooting and specifically targeted people of Jewish faith."
Snelling declined to specify what exactly was discovered on the phone, however.
According to the Jewish United Fund, police said during a meeting with the group Monday that Abdallahi shouted "Allahu Akbar" while firing at officers, leading to the belief that the attack may have been motivated by hate.
"We did not secure these charges because of public pressure or because of media attention. We will never go out in public, make statements, allegations, accusations or attempt to bring charges without any proof of what we're attempting to charge someone for," Snelling said. "Gathering evidence and facts takes time and we have to do it in a timely fashion so that we don't impede the possibility of getting charges... we will never do things just on belief. We need proof."
Snelling said the 39-year-old Jewish victim "did not suffer life threatening injuries," but added "we know that this is something that he's going to have to deal with the rest of his days."
"We should be outraged," Snelling said, addressing residents.
Snelling was joined by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, then-Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and Silverstein in announcing the additional charges.
"A place of worship is a sacred place," Johnson said. "We are all working together to put an end to the hatred of our Jewish siblings."
Foxx noted that terrorism charges in such cases are rare.
"We understand that what happened last Saturday stoked incredible fear in the hearts of those who practice the Jewish faith in our city," Foxx said.
She said the attacker "sought out this particular community, sought out this particular faith."
"We are a strong, united, resilient community, and we will remain that way," Silverstein said.
During a press conference, leaders from Agudath Israel of Illinois, the Anti-Defamation League and the Chicago Rabbinical Council addressed the shooting and concerns raised by the community in wake of the attack.
"Members of the Jewish Orthodox community are the most vulnerable to violent attacks," Rabbi Sholomo Soroka said. "We are easily identifiable as Jews."
The Rabbi also noted that the victim's daughters frequently accompany him on walks to synagogue.
"Could you imagine? What would have happened if they were with him?" he said.
"Here in our community, Saturday's shooting of an Orthodox community member while walking to Shabbat services was the realization of the worst fear held by many," David Goldenberg of the ADL said. "And that is not OK."
Police said evidence indicated the gunman was "working alone" and don't believe there are any additional suspects at this time.
