Members of Chicago’s Jewish community on Monday pushed for hate crime charges to be filed after a man was shot on the city’s Far Northwest Side. NBC Chicago’s Courtney Sisk reports.
Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report on this story.
The individual accused of shooting and injuring a Jewish man walking to synagogue and subsequently opening fire at first responders in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood performed searches on Google for synagogues, a Jewish community center and gun range in the days ahead of the attack.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, was ordered to remain detained during a court appearance on Friday. Abdallahi faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
A probable cause affidavit revealed Abdallahi's phone, which was seized by authorities following the shooting, contained more than 100 anti-Semitic/anti-Jewish images, videos and screenshots.
At around 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 26, Abdallahi allegedly shot a Jewish man wearing traditional attire as he walked along Washtenaw Avenue on his way to synagogue, according to court documents.
The suspect -- who remained in the area following the shooting -- was captured on surveillance video wearing a neon yellow vest over a maroon long-sleeved sweatshirt with a red hood draped over the vest, blue jeans and dark shoes with white soles. The victim reported seeing an individual wearing a neon yellow vest moments after realizing he had been shot.
Several minutes later, video from a nearby residence captured the gunman, identified as Abdallahi, walking on Morse Avenue toward Washtenaw with his hands in the hooded sweatshirt's front pocket, documents stated.
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Surveillance video then captured Abdallahi exiting a nearby alley, pulling out his firearm and firing two shots in the direction of four officers before retreating down an alley, according to a probable cause affidavit. The suspect was later seen on a different camera along Farwell Avenue near Morse, where he was captured on video extending his arms with a gun in his hands and firing in the direction of an ambulance and police officer, prosecutors said. That officer subsequently returned fire as the alleged shooter ran into the an alley.
Abdallahi continued eastbound in the alley then went through a yard and onto a driveway, where he fired at a different officer, documents stated. All five officers lost sight of Abdallahi and took cover, but a short time later, he resurfaced and fired repeatedly, prosecutors stated.
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The alleged gunmen then fell onto the sidewalk, but sat up and continued firing at officers, according to court documents. Once the suspect fell to his back and stopped moving, he was taken into custody.
A gun was recovered from next to Abdallahi and had a spent shell casing in the chamber, authorities said.
The suspect was taken to the hospital, having been shot in the back of the head, lower back, left thigh, left forearm, left knee and upper right thigh, court documents showed.
Officers conducted a search of his vehicle and recovered a cell phone, which revealed with more than 100 anti-Semitic/anti-Jewish images, videos and screenshots as well as Google searches for a Jewish Community Center, the International Fellowship of Christian and Jews plus Midwest Guns Chicago Gun Store and Shooting Range, located in Lyons.
According to documents, Abdallahi used Google Maps to view routes to two synagogues: The Congregation Ezras Israel, 7001 N. California Ave. and KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, 5039 S. Greenwood Ave.
