A crazed gunman in Chicago opened fire on a Jewish man walking to synagogue, and then screamed “Allahu Akbar” before a shootout with cops, according to reports.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, was arrested following the gun battle Saturday morning in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The victim, a 39-year-old Orthodox Jewish man, was hit in the shoulder and is recovering.
Abdallahi allegedly approached the victim as he was on the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue, walking toward a synagogue at around 9:30 a.m., police said.
“At about 9:55, the offender reemerged from an alley and fired shots at the officers and at the responding paramedics,” Chicago Deputy Police Chief Kevin Bruno told reporters.
Abdallahi then had a nearly three-minute-long standoff with police, with the bullets flying and even hitting a Chicago Fire Department ambulance, officials said.
A security camera in the area recorded Abdallahi allegedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” before firing at police, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The Jewish United Fund also claimed that police said during a meeting Monday that Abdallahi made the declaration, according to CBS News.
“[Chicago Police Department] recognizes that the pace of publicly available information about the investigation adds an additional layer of frustration for our community,” JUF said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, unsubstantiated and outright false information is spreading and is significantly contributing to unnecessary, unhelpful anxiety. Law enforcement’s priority is doing nothing to jeopardize the investigation and eventual prosecution.”
The gunman was shot multiple times by police and rushed to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was listed in critical condition.
Abdallahi was charged with six counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated battery.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing, with the motive in the attack not yet clear.
Detectives haven’t been able to interview Abdallahi because of his injuries, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said, according to CBS News. He didn’t rule out the possibility of additional charges.
Alderperson Debra Silverstein, a local resident, said she was shocked by the violence over the weekend — and also furious about the lack of hate crime charges filed against Abdallahi
“I am very disappointed by this turn of events and strongly encourage the Cook County State’s Attorney Office to prosecute the offender to the full extent of the law,” Silverstein told the Sun-Times.
“The Jewish community is always on high alert, and this is just adding to our anxiety,” she added.
The shooting comes amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across the US since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.
Abdallahi is due in court Tuesday.
