A 39-year-old Jewish man was shot as he walked to shul in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood, home to many Orthodox Jews, on Shabbos morning, neighbors told Fox 32 Chicago.
The shooting appears to be a terror attack. Video footage of the incident shows the man apparently yelling Allah Akhbar before shooting and attempting to flee.
The Chicago Police Department told JNS that detectives are still investigating the incident, and it could not confirm that the victim was Jewish.
Kevin Bruno, deputy chief of the Chicago Police Department detectives bureau, said during a Saturday press conference that at about 9:35 a.m., a 39-year-old man was walking in West Rogers Park “when an armed offender approached from behind and fired shots at the victim, striking the victim in the shoulder.”
“Responding officers responded to the scene, and as they were on the scene, at about 9:55, the offender re-emerged from an alley and fired shots at the officers and at the responding paramedics,” including striking an ambulance, Bruno said.
“Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, the offender emerged from various locations and exchanged shots with the officers,” he added.
Officers shot the 23-year-old gunman “multiple times” in a different location, less than a quarter of a mile away and recovered the shooter’s gun and took the shooter, who is in critical condition, to a hospital, according to Bruno.
The 39-year-old, whom neighbors initially came out to help in the street, was treated at a hospital and released, Bruno added.
“It’s great to see the community step in and offer assistance,” Bruno said at the press conference.
Asked if the victim was wearing anything that identified him as an Orthodox Jew, Bruno said that “the victim is from the community.”
Debra Silverstein, alderman of Chicago’s 50th Ward, which includes West Rogers Park, wrote that “thankfully, the victim is in stable condition and is recovering at home.”
“I visited him…and he is doing well. I pray for his speedy recovery,” added Silverstein, who is Jewish. “The shooting happened on Shabbat following the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. I spoke with Superintendent Larry Snelling, who assured me that there is no more known threat and has committed the full support of the Chicago Police Department to ensuring the safety of our community.”
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