Chicago Police on Thursday announced that felony terrorism and hate crime charges have been added to the charges against the suspect who shot an Orthodox Jewish man as he was walking to synagogue this past Shabbat, and then fired at responding officers during a shootout.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, has been charged with one felony count of terrorism and one felony count of a hate crime, Chicago Police Department Chief Larry Snelling said at a news conference Thursday, according to CNN.
Abdallahi is accused of firing several shots at a 39-year-old man on the city’s North Side before firing “at responding officers and paramedics multiple times from various locations,” police say. Officers returned fire, striking the gunman, Chicago police said in a release Monday.
No members of the police or fire departments were injured, but Abdallahi remains hospitalized.
Investigators have not been able to interview the suspect due to his injuries, Snelling said on Thursday. Detectives looked through digital evidence to establish a case, including evidence from his phone that indicated he was targeting people of Jewish faith, the chief said.
Abdallahi, who is reportedly an illegal alien from Mauritania who was previously caught and released in the US Border Patrol's San Diego sector, was initially charged with six counts of attempted first-degree murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and a count of aggravated battery.
His next court appearance is scheduled for November 7.
The additional charges against Abdallahi were announced a day after Agudath Israel of Illinois (AIOI) hosted a press conference calling upon the appropriate parties to address community concerns, to be transparent, and to prosecute the offender to the fullest extent.
During the press conference, AIOI’s director of government affairs, Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, addressed the fact that hate crime charges were not among the numerous other charges filed against the offender, saying, “Are we disappointed that hate crime charges weren’t filed? Yes, but we also understand that the investigation is ongoing and that there can be additional charges tacked on later. Which means we will be watching the State’s Attorney’s office closely as time goes on. There is no room whatsoever for political considerations. And while we also understand there are legalities and hate crimes aren’t easily prosecuted, we expect every effort is made to prosecute a hate crime for what it is.”