Illegal migrant charged in shooting of Jewish man headed to Chicago synagogue is found dead in ‘apparent suicide’
The illegal migrant charged with shooting a Jewish man in a targeted attack in Chicago killed himself while in custody, according to police.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, a 22-year-old from Mauritania, was found unresponsive in Cermak Health Services on Saturday afternoon in “an apparent suicide attempt by hanging” during a routine check, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Abdallahi, who was not considered at risk for suicide, was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No foul play is suspected, police said.
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the death, according to the sheriff’s office.
Abdallahi had opened fire on a 39-year-old Jewish man walking to synagogue in October in the city’s West Ridge neighborhood, leading to a shootout with police.
He had been recovering from multiple gunshot wounds from the shootout when he took his own life.
Alderman Debra Silverstein, who represents the area where the shooting occurred and attends the same synagogue as the victim, said she hopes Abdallahi’s death will help calm distressed residents still “reeling” from the shooting.
“My community has been on edge for quite some time … [so] I hope this will bring a small measure of closure,” Silverstein told the Sun-Times on Sunday night. “But we would still like to find out all the details about what happened.”
Abdallahi was following the 39-year-old victim, who was wearing a Jewish kippah and prayer shawl, as he walked to synagogue around 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 when the suspect opened fire and shot the man in the shoulder, according to police.
As paramedics rushed to help the victim and police searched for the gunman, Abdallahi popped out of a nearby alleyway, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and began firing at the officers, striking a Chicago Fire Department ambulance.
Abdallahi was critically wounded when police shot back.
The victim did not sustain life-threatening injuries and no first responders were hurt.
At a detention hearing on Nov. 22, prosecutors said Abdallahi had mapped out several local synagogues and Jewish schools as targets in the days before the shooting.
Abdallahi entered the US through San Diego in March 2023 and was screened by border agents before he was released into the country, officials told The Post.
When he was stopped at the border, authorities didn’t find any criminal or terrorist histories linked to him, sources said.
