Illegal immigrant shouting 'Allahu Akbar' after shooting Chicago Jewish man was planning further attacks on Jews: prosecutors

An illegal immigrant accused of shooting a Jewish man on his way to synagogue in Chicago last month and then shooting at police and paramedics previously mapped out the locations of synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers in the predominantly Jewish area of West Rogers Park before the attack.

On Friday, prosecutors said, at a detention hearing, that 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi used his cellphone to identify potential targets in the area before the October 26 shooting of a 39-year-old Jewish man who was walking to synagogue on the Sabbath, per Yeshiva News World. He also searched for a gun store and firing range nearby.

Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said, "This was not anything but a planned attack … an attempted assassination of these people. This was a calculated plan, on a public street… and an attempted slaughter of that person and law enforcement officers."

Abdallahi has been in the US for two years and is a Muslim illegal immigrant from Mauritania. On Friday, he appeared in court for the first time since being hospitalized for gunshot wounds sustained during a shootout with police.

According to law enforcement, data from Abdallahi’s phone had saved locations of synagogues and he conducted internet searches for “Jewish Community Center” days before the attack. Prosecutors also stated that the phone contained hundreds of antisemitic and pro-Hamas videos. Immediately after the attack, local officials were slammed for not calling the attack a hate crime or terrorism even though Abdallahi had yelled "Allahu Akbar," as seen in the viral video of the shooting.

McCord Rodgers added, “This was a targeted attack against the Jewish community.”

The visibly Jewish victim was walking in the 2900 block of West Farwell Avenue when Abdallahi opened fire from behind him. The Jewish victim told investigators that he heard the gunshot and felt pain in his shoulder but didn’t realize he had been shot until noticing a hole in his jacket.

The shooting was captured on surveillance footage. Abdallahi was heard screaming “Allahu Akbar” and was seen running away while attempting to clear his semi-automatic pistol, which jammed. He returned to the scene on foot for his car and, according to prosecutors, Abdallahi fired two shots at police officers and paramedics who were tending to the victim at the scene. He then got into a firefight with officers and hit an ambulance twice before being shot by police.

Despite his injuries, Abdallahi fired at officers again before collapsing. According to Fox 32, Judge Susana Ortiz ordered Abdallahi to remain in custody on multiple counts of attempted murder, hate crime, and terrorism.