Video released of West Ridge shootout between police, hate crime suspect

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released videos Thursday showing Chicago police officers engaging in a shootout with the now-deceased suspect in an October hate crime shooting in West Ridge.

Police have said that a 39-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was walking about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 in the 2600 block of West Farwell Avenue when a man following him opened fire, striking the victim in the shoulder.

Body-worn camera footage shows officers on scene of the initial shooting when the suspect, 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, walks out of an alley and opens fire on an officer and a Chicago Fire Department ambulance.

Several more gunshots can be heard moments later, followed by a pause and then a barrage of gunfire before the suspect is seen lying on a sidewalk. The shootout happened within about three minutes.

COPA’s report of the shooting indicates five of the 10 responding officers fired their weapons.

Abdallahi suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and was treated at a hospital. He was charged with committing a hate crime, attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery.

Abdallahi died Nov. 30 while in custody at the Cook County Jail. Sheriff’s staff found him unresponsive in his cell in an “apparent suicide attempt,” the Cook County sheriff’s office has said.

As of Thursday, the cause and manner of death has not been determined by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.