The man charged in a North Side weekend shootout with Chicago Police officers was ordered detained pending trial Tuesday during a brief hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, was charged Monday with six counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of aggravated battery in connection with the Oct. 26 shooting in the West Rogers Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Abdallahi was not present in court as he remained hospitalized and intubated, according to police.
During a brief hearing Tuesday, Cook County Judge Deidre Dyer ordered Abdallahi held in the Cook County Jail pending trial. His next court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 7.
The shooting unfolded Saturday morning in the North Side neighborhood that’s home to the highest concentration of Jewish citizens in the city. Chicago police superintendent Larry Snelling said Monday that Abdallahi remained hospitalized and CPD detectives had not yet interviewed him.
Around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, a 39-year-old man was in the 2600 block of West Farwell when another man approached from behind and shot him in the shoulder, police previously said. Neighbors came to the aid of the wounded man while the shooter remained in the area.
Soon after, once police were on the scene, the shooter emerged from an alley and opened fire on officers, CPD’s deputy chief of detectives, Kevin Bruno, told reporters over the weekend. For the next two and a half minutes, Bruno said, the man popped out of various locations, exchanging shots with officers. No officers were injured, but a Chicago Fire Department ambulance was struck by the gunfire.
CPD officers returned fire, striking the man and critically wounding Abdallahi, police said. The suspect remained at Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition as of Monday.
The 39-year-old man was treated and later released from the hospital.
The crime was not immediately charged as a hate crime, disappointing Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, who said many in her ward feel unsafe after the shooting. The victim was in traditional Orthodox dress and on his way to synagogue when he was struck by a bullet.
“These charges reflect the seriousness of this crime,” Silverstein said at a police news conference Monday. “However, I am concerned by the lack of hate crime charges in this case. While the motive is still under investigation, the community is, rightfully, troubled given the nature and timing of the attack.”
Charges filed in weekend shooting in Rogers Park; alderman calls for hate crime investigation
Silverstein said she and the victim attend the same synagogue. She spoke with him shortly after his release from the hospital over the weekend.
“He’s doing OK and his spirits are good,” Silverstein said.
Snelling stressed the situation remains under investigation and further police work needed to be done.
Records show Abdallahi was born in Mauritania.
Police did not directly address some media reports that the man charged shouted an Arabic phrase while firing at officers, but again said it remained under investigation. The injured shooter had yet to be interviewed by police as he remained hospitalized as of Monday afternoon, Snelling said.
“Our investigations (are) based on facts that we gather into evidence in order to present charges,” Snelling told reporters Monday. “Until we have those facts, we will not announce charges. It’s about what we can prove at the time based on the facts.”
