Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, announced that an immigration detainer has been lodged with the Cook County Jail for a suspect who is facing hate crime and terrorism charges in the West Rogers Park shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man.
“For those of us in the Jewish community it always felt like a hate crime, it always felt like an act of terror and we’re glad now that the charges reflect that reality,” David Goldenberg, the Midwest Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League said.
Goldenberg told NBC Chicago he’s been in contact with the victim’s family and said what happened to the 39-year-old victim is something they have been fearing for years.
“We’ve seen a dramatic uptick in antisemitic incidents in Chicago, a near 300% increase over the last year, and we’re concerned about how that manifested itself whether be through vandalism or through harassment, and in this particular case, an assault or an attempted murder,” he said.
Surveillance video captured parts of the shooting Saturday morning. Police said the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, targeted the Jewish man as he walked to his synagogue.
Police said officers and paramedics responded to the scene to help the victim and that’s when Abdallahi fired shots at them before being shot by police.
“With detectives unable to interview the offender because of the injuries that he sustained in the shooting, detectives sifted through digital evidence to establish this case,” CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said. “Evidence from the offender’s phone indicated he planned this shooting that specifically targeted people of Jewish faith. This evidence allowed us to secure the terrorism and hate crime charges.”
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Court records show Abdallahi’s last known address was listed on Chicago’s Far South Side on 115th Street. NBC Chicago talked to the landlord on the phone, who said he doesn’t know the suspect, never rented to him, and believes the suspect’s possible relative may have lived in that apartment.
Police said the suspect is not from Chicago. A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement told NBC Chicago the federal agency lodged an immigration detainer with the Cook County Jail on Oct. 29, days after the reported shooting.
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In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said Abdallahi is a Mauritanian national who was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents in March near San Ysidro, California.
Abdallahi is slated to appear in court on Nov. 7, barring any further delay due to his medical condition.
