Police in Chicago have not confirmed the nationality of a man who is accused of shooting a Jewish man walking to a synagogue over the weekend, or what words the man used when he opened fire on police and other emergency responders.
The alleged shooter, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, was critically wounded and remains hospitalized, and police officials said they have not been able to speak to him while investigating his motive or determining if he should face hate crime charges, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Abdallahi, 22, has been charged with six counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated battery, and is facing a detention hearing Tuesday. However, he has not yet been charged with committing a hate crime.
The attack took place Saturday morning, and Monday afternoon, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling confirmed the suspect said something when he exchanged gunfire with the police.
However, when asked why hate crime charges had not been filed, Snelling said the police are "continuing to investigate the motive."
While reports, including in The Jerusalem Post, indicated Abdallahi had shouted the Muslim phrase "Allahu akbar" before exchanging gunfire with police, the Chicago authorities said it was not clear what the suspect had said to the officers.
Snelling added Abdallahi did not "say a word" before allegedly shooting the 39-year-old Jewish man.
"We understand the concerns around this incident, and we're doing everything we can to ensure that the community is safe," Snelling said. "There's been a lot of information circulating about the shooting, and we ask that the public not rush to judgment in this situation."
The FBI has confirmed it has joined in the investigation, ABC News reported.
"The perpetrator was going to shoot him on the ground, but his gun jammed," a witness told ABC. "And a neighbor of ours, who had happened to be out there, had yelled and [the victim] started running toward my neighbor, and my neighbor ended up bringing him into the house."
Aldermen Debra Silverstein, of Chicago's 50th Ward, said during the news conference that the victim, an Orthodox Jew who has not been identified, belongs to the same synagogue she attends.
Earlier, she told the Sun-Times the man had been wearing a kippah, a traditional Jewish head covering, on his way to services.
"Despite evidence that seems to suggest an antisemitic motive for the shooting, authorities did not file hate crime charges," she said in a statement.
She also said she is "disappointed" and encourages the Cook County State Attorney's Office to "prosecute the offender to the full extent of the law."
"The police have assured me that they are continuing to gather evidence, and additional charges — including hate crime charges — can still be added," she said.
Silverstein said she has met with the victim, who has declined to speak with the media, and said he's going well and his spirits are "good."
"The Jewish community is always on high alert, and this is just adding to our anxiety," she said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.