Suspect in October hate crime shooting of Orthodox man found dead in Chicago jail

The man accused of shooting a Jew on his way to synagogue in Chicago in late October has been found dead in his jail cell.

Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, had been arrested and charged with terrorism and hate crime charges for shooting the Orthodox man in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood on October 26, a Shabbat morning.

Abdallahi, an immigrant from Mauritania, had subsequently exchanged fire with law enforcement when police and paramedics arrived on the scene and was taken to a local hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound.

Abdallahi was initially charged with 14 total felony counts — including attempted first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm toward a police officer. But the shooting unleashed a firestorm in Chicago, where the initial lack of hate crime charges drew sharp criticism from local Jewish leaders. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also faced backlash for omitting mention of the victim’s Jewish identity in his response to the shooting.

Days later, amid the blowback, hate crime charges were filed against Abdallahi.

At a detention hearing on November 22, prosecutors presented evidence showing that Abdallahi had mapped several Chicago synagogues and Jewish day schools in the days prior to the shooting, including a synagogue one block from the scene of the attack, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Apparent suicide

Abdallahi was found dead Saturday, November 30, at 3:30 p.m. during a routine security check at the health center in Cook County Jail. He was found unresponsive in an “apparent suicide attempt by hanging” in his cell, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said. He was then taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.

The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is conducting an investigation, according to the sheriff’s office, which said there was no sign of foul play and that Abdallahi was not considered a suicide risk. An autopsy is also being conducted, according to a local ABC affiliate.

“My community has been on edge for quite some time,” Alderwoman Debra Silverstein, herself an Orthodox Jew who represents West Rogers Park, told the Sun-Times. “I hope this will bring a small measure of closure.”

Silverstein, who had expressed outrage at the initial lack of hate crime charges, also said she hoped the investigation would continue. “We would still like to find out all the details about what happened,” she said.