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Chicago Police Announce Hate Crime, Terror Charges Against Gunman Accused of Shooting Orthodox Jew
Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, speaks during Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, US, Aug. 19, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
JNS.org — Chicago is adding one felony count each of terror and hate-crime charges to the 14 felony charges it has brought against Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, who is accused of shooting a 39-year-old Jewish man who was walking to synagogue on Shabbat, Chicago Police superintendent Larry Snelling announced on Thursday.
“Since this shooting occurred, our investigative response team has worked their fingers to the bone to determine a motive,” Snelling said of the probe of Abdallahi, who is also accused of firing at police officers and paramedics on Oct. 26.
Abdallahi’s scheduled appearance in court on Tuesday was delayed, while he remains in the hospital from injuries that he sustained in a two-and-a-half-minute shootout with police officers. He is now slated to appear in court on Nov. 7, Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney for Cook County, Ill., said at a press conference at Chicago Police Department headquarters at 4:30 pm local time.
Snelling and Foxx spoke alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has faced intense criticism from the Chicago Jewish community for issuing a statement days only after the shooting and for not mentioning that the victim was visibly Jewish. Police did not initially announce hate-crime charges among the 14 felony charges.
“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 at the press conference.
“I want to make this clear to everybody here, everybody in every community: We did not secure these charges because of public pressure or because of media attention,” the superintendent said. “The responsibility that we have in law enforcement is that 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.”
“This shooting is deeply personal to members of our Jewish community — we know that — but this shooting should be personal to everyone across the city,” Snelling added. “We have a diverse city. We live in a very diverse city, and anytime someone suffers violence, especially a shooting, we should be outraged no matter where it occurs in our neighborhoods and across our city.”
Snelling said that investigators couldn’t interview the suspect due to the injuries he sustained, so detectives went through digital evidence to establish the case.
“Evidence from the offender’s phone indicated he planned the shooting and specifically targeted people of Jewish faith,” Snelling said. “This evidence allowed us to secure the terrorism and hate crime charges.”
‘Wicked behavior’
A reporter asked Johnson, the Chicago mayor, why he didn’t initially mention that the victim was visibly Jewish, noting that Chicago officials and the Anti-Defamation League were critical of that omission.
“Well, look, it’s important to know that my responsibility as the mayor of the City of Chicago is to keep every single community safe, and I take that responsibility seriously,” Johnson said.
“It is very clear in the evidence that has been brought forward that this individual acted to not only strike fear into the Jewish community, but their action was very clear that there’s hatred towards the Jewish community,” he added. “I’m going to continue to do my part to ensure that the Jewish community knows that they are loved and seen and heard.”
Johnson said that he is “appalled and sickened by the wicked behavior that came from this individual, and as someone that comes to this job with a deep sense of faith and moral clarity, my stance in my position is lived out every single day in this job.”
“The Jewish community is not alone,” he added. “We’re standing firm with our Jewish siblings, as I’ve always had.”
Johnson has also drawn criticism from Chicago Jews for breaking a tie in the City Council in February in favor of a resolution that called for a ceasefire in Israel without referring to the hostages or to Hamas.
“My words are not as powerful as my actions, and our actions are clear,” Johnson said at the press conference. “Charges have been brought, the full force of government is on display and the Jewish community can be assured that we’re using every aspect of government to ensure that they are safe.”
He added that “there is absolutely no place in Chicago for antisemitism. There’s no place in our city for hatred directed towards our Jewish community.”
Johnson said that as a city leader, husband, and father, “”t grieves me and it breaks my heart, knowing that our Jewish community doesn’t feel safe and secure in our beloved city.”
“This is not just an attack against our beloved community of Jewish people, it’s an attack against us as a city,” he said. “Antisemitism in Chicago does not reflect the soul of Chicago. Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe.”
‘Deeply concerned’
“Hate crimes are not just crimes against an individual, but are attempts to disrupt the social fabric that unites us all,” Foxx, the county attorney, said. “By bringing terrorism charges, and I will acknowledge that it is rare that we bring terrorism charges, we underscore the gravity of targeting specific communities with violence, intended to intimidate or terrorize.”
“We understand that what happened last Saturday stoked incredible fear in the hearts of those who lived in that community, who practice the Jewish faith, in our entire city,” she said.
Sarah Van Loon, Chicago regional director of the American Jewish Committee, told JNS that “since Saturday, Chicago’s Jewish community has been seeking reassurance that authorities were investigating this attack as a hate crime because we were deeply concerned that a member of our community was violently targeted.”
“With that said, we continue to urge a thorough investigation so that justice can be served,” she said.
Debra Silverstein, the alderman of Chicago’s 50th Ward who is Jewish, also spoke at the press conference. She thanked Chicago Police for their efforts, but did not thank the mayor.
“To my community, I want to thank you for your patience. I know it’s been a very, very difficult time for all of us,” she said.
“I do just want to say one thing about the Jewish community. We are a strong, united, resilient community and we will remain that way,” she said. “I know that public safety is our highest concern, and I give my community my word that I will continue to advocate for the safety of everyone in my community, and I will work together with our friends in the police department to make sure that stays safe.”
Abdallahi has been assigned a public defender, NBC 5 Chicago reported. The defendant reportedly entered the country illegally.
“We know he’s not from Chicago,” Snelling said in response to a question. He said it would be irresponsible to comment on something that is still being investigated by the police and “federal partners.”
A WGN reporter asked the speakers at the press conference to respond to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirming to the outlet that Abdallahi is a Mauritanian national.
“What we’re doing today is announcing the charges,” Foxx, the county attorney said. “Next week, when we do the full on proffer regarding — we can confirm the information that you have. Again, this person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
The post Chicago Police Announce Hate Crime, Terror Charges Against Gunman Accused of Shooting Orthodox Jew first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.