Man Accused of Shooting Spree Found Dead in Cook County Jail
CHICAGO — Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, the man accused of targeting a Jewish man, Chicago Police Officers, and paramedics during a shooting spree in West Rogers Park five weeks ago, was found dead at the Cook County jail on Saturday. Officials said his death appeared to be suicide by hanging.
An autopsy was conducted Sunday, but the results are still pending, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Abdallahi, 22, was seriously wounded by Chicago police officers who shot him as he continued his mid-morning rampage on October 26. A sheriff’s office spokesperson said Sunday that Abdallah had been housed since November 15 at Cermak Health Services, the jail’s medical facility operated by a division of Cook County Health.
Sheriff’s office personnel conducting routine security checks at Cermak “found Abdallah unresponsive due to an apparent suicide attempt by hanging in his cell” around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the spokesperson said. “Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures and Abdallah was transported by a Chicago Fire Department ambulance to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.”
The spokesperson said there was “no evidence of foul play at this time.”
In announcing charges, prosecutors said Abdallah’s phone data showed he spent days selecting targets, including a synagogue not far from where he shot a 39-year-old Jewish man who was walking to synagogue. After shooting the man in the 2600 block of West Farwell, Abdallahi allegedly got into his car and drove a short distance, only to return to the area about 20 minutes later and start shooting at police and paramedics.
For more than two minutes, Abdallahi popped up at different locations to exchange gunfire with Chicago cops, officials alleged. He was eventually brought down by police gunfire in the 6800 block of North Washtenaw. (Video here. Discretion advised.)
Prosecutors did not initially charge him with a hate crime, but those counts were added within days after detectives cracked his phone and allegedly found its history included searches for gun stores, firing ranges, synagogues, and Jewish community centers in the days leading up to the shooting.
Abdallahi “sought out this particular community. Sought out this particular faith,” Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said at the time.
Officials said Abdallahi, from the West African country of Mauritania, crossed paths with U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Ysidro, California, in March 2023.
The sheriff’s office spokesperson said that the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force has been asked to conduct an independent investigation of his death.
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