Chicago Jewish leaders felt a “sense of relief” Thursday when the local prosecutor increased charges against an illegal immigrant from Mauritius who He shot a Jew who was walking to the synagogue. to include both hate crimes and terrorism charges.

But the move has raised questions among Jewish security officials about whether the immigration status of the suspect, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, should raise larger concerns — that is, whether Chicago’s status as a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants could pose an increasing risk to the city’s Jewish community.

“If there are indications that people are crossing the border and posing a threat to the Jewish community, that is, of course, deeply concerning,” said Richard Priem, acting executive director of the Community Security Service, a security organization based in the Jewish community that trains volunteers across the country, said Jewish Insider.

“What this means for us is that the increasing threat of violence that we have been operating under since October 7th has just been another example of what this means: that people can be attacked when they go to synagogue,” he said Priem. “This is exactly the type of risk we train volunteers for and we will be sure to apply the lessons learned in our briefings and training sessions on the ground.”

The shooting occurred Oct. 26 in West Rogers Park, home to one of the city’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities. After shooting a 39-year-old Jewish man whose name has not been identified, wounding him in the shoulder, the 22-year-old suspect, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he exchanged gunfire with responding police officers. . shooting, according to video footage obtained by a doorbell camera.

Abdallahi was initially charged with six felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, seven felony counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm at a police officer and one felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm battery.

Priem said there is “absolutely the possibility” of similar attacks occurring, but added that CSS is not currently aware of any specific threats. “But we are preparing and anticipating that things like this could happen again and we want to be prepared,” he said.

Mitch Silber, director of the Community Security Initiative, which coordinates security for Jewish communities in the New York region, said that because the shooter was a lone actor, rather than affiliated with ISIS or Hamas, he does not believe that there are “greater Lessons that can be learned besides individual actors are one of the main types of threats that Jewish communities and law enforcement are trying to protect themselves against and you never know when they are going to spontaneously combust and try to attack ”.

Solo actors are “a real challenge,” Silber said, “because you’re trying to find the needle in the haystack. “When there is a group of a dozen people, on the law enforcement and intelligence side, there is a much greater chance that there will be a leak.”

Silber, author of a 2007 New York Police Department Intelligence Division report titled “Radicalization in the West: The Local Threat,” added that he does not believe the incident (which has only been sporadically covered by media outside of Chicago) becomes a more high-profile incident. news, even with the larger implications surrounding immigration policy.

“But this certainly provides data points for those arguing about immigration issues,” Silber said.

Chicago Jewish leaders on Thursday applauded the improved charges.

“Designating these acts as hate crimes is important, as it indicates that Americans value tolerance and oppose anyone being attacked because of their religion. Hate crime charges also emphasize that our society and our justice system reject bigotry and intolerance, an important message to convey,” said Michael Masters, executive director of Secure Community Network and former chief of staff of the Chicago Police Department. , in a statement to JI.

“The community had felt that this was clearly a hate crime and an act of terror and now the charges reflect that. As more details become known, we will learn what prompted both charges,” David Goldenberg, director of the Midwest Anti-Defamation League, told JI. “We have been on high alert for the last year, and even longer, regardless of where an attack may come from,” Goldenberg said.

Councilwoman Debra Silverstein, who represents District 50, the district where the shooting occurred, reiterated that the community “has always been on high alert.”

“I know this shooting has increased everyone’s anxiety, but we are resilient and we are going to move forward,” Silverstein said. “My community has wanted to see hate crime charges this whole time, so I think there’s a sense of relief that those charges have finally been filed. The attempted murder charges are higher, but I think it was important for us and for the world to see that there was a hate crime here.”