A man currently facing charges related to a hate crime after shooting an Orthodox Jewish individual and engaging with law enforcement last month had previously marked several Jewish institutions in Chicago, including shuls and schools, on his phone, authorities revealed.

During a detention hearing held on Friday, prosecutors presented evidence from Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi’s cellphone, which showed the 22-year-old had spent several days identifying potential targets before he shot a 39-year-old man on October 26. The victim was on his way to attend religious services when the shooting occurred. Among the locations Abdallahi had plotted was a shul located only a block away from the crime scene.

Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers emphasized that the shooting was a deliberate act, describing it as “not anything but a planned attack … an attempted assassination of these people.” She continued, saying, “This was a calculated plan, on a public street… and an attempted slaughter of that person and law enforcement officers.”

Abdallahi appeared in court for the first time on Friday, walking slowly into the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, pushing a walker as he made his way to the seat next to his public defender. The 22-year-old, who was hospitalized after a gunfight with responding police officers, had been shot multiple times during the exchange.

Abdallahi, originally from Mauritania, had been living in the United States for at least two years and worked at an Amazon warehouse, according to Assistant Public Defender Josh Thigpen. Judge Susana Ortiz decided to keep Abdallahi in detention on several charges, including attempted murder, hate crime, and terrorism.

The victim was walking to his shul when Abdallahi approached from behind on West Farwell. McCord Rodgers explained that the victim did not initially realize he had been shot, only noticing the wound after observing a hole in his jacket where the bullet had exited. A surveillance camera showed Abdallahi firing at the man before running away. He then appeared to struggle with a jammed semi-automatic pistol but returned to the scene shortly after, attempting to clear the malfunction, before fleeing again.

Moments later, another camera captured Abdallahi driving a short distance away, parking his car, and returning to the scene on foot, where he walked past a woman pushing a stroller. From a nearby alley, Abdallahi then fired twice in the direction of four officers who were searching for evidence, along with paramedics who were attending to the injured victim. Abdallahi then ran through an alley, crossed a yard, and circled back toward the ambulance, firing at it as paramedics loaded the wounded man inside. A fifth police officer fired back as Abdallahi fled again.

As Abdallahi ran down the alley, he paused to take a shot at a police officer. He then sought cover before emerging on Washtenaw Street, where he engaged in a shootout with police. Abdallahi was struck by gunfire and fell, but reportedly got back up and allegedly fired again before collapsing onto the sidewalk.

Investigators discovered Abdallahi’s phone inside his vehicle. The phone’s data allegedly revealed that he had saved the locations of a shul near the scene of the shooting on October 20 and 24. He had also saved the location of another shul in Hyde Park on October 22 and 23. Further investigation into his search history indicated that, two weeks before the shooting, Abdallahi had looked up “Jewish Community center” as well as a gun store in Lyons. Additionally, his phone contained over 100 “antisemitic and pro-Hamas” images and videos, McCord Rodgers said.

{Matzav.com}