(CNN) — A man is facing felony terrorism and hate crime charges after authorities say he shot a Jewish man who was walking to a synagogue and then fired at responding officers during a weekend shootout in Chicago.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, has been charged with one felony count of terrorism and one felony count of a hate crime, Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news conference Thursday.
It’s unclear if Abdallahi has an attorney.
Abdallahi is accused of firing several shots at a 39-year-old man Saturday morning 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. Detectives looked through digital evidence to establish a case, including evidence from his phone that indicated he was targeting people of Jewish faith, the superintendent said.
Evidence shows Abdallahi was working alone, Snelling said, adding officials don’t want residents to live in fear “that there’s a network of people out there engaged in this activity.”
Abdallahi is also facing six counts of attempted first-degree murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of aggravated battery with the discharge of a firearm, the release said. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 7.
Snelling said it was important for authorities to fully investigate the incident to determine the new charges were appropriate and emphasized they did not secure the new counts because of public pressure or media attention.
“There must be sufficient evidence to support hate crimes and terrorism charges and it was important we took our time to thoroughly investigate and confirm that this was indeed a crime of that nature,” Snelling said. “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.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said there is no place in Chicago for hatred, calling hate toward the Jewish community “hideous” and “wicked.”
“This is not just an attack against our beloved community of Jewish people, this was an attack against us as a city,” Johnson said. “Antisemitism in Chicago does not reflect the soul of Chicago. And everyone in our city deserves to feel safe, and no one in our city should be attacked based on their beliefs, their religion, their identity.”
Johnson echoed Snelling’s comments about residents sense of security. “The Jewish community can be assured that we’re using every aspect of government to ensure that they are safe,” the mayor said.
In a statement posted on X Thursday, the Midwest arm of The Anti-Defamation League said “the charges appropriately reflect” the nature of the shooting.
“We must all turn our attention to supporting the victim and the West Rogers Park Jewish community as they recover from this heinous act,” the statement read.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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