The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released videos Thursday showing Chicago police officers involved in a shootout with the now-deceased suspect in the October hate crime shooting in West Ridge.
A 39-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was walking around 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 in the 2600 block of West Farwell Street when a man following him opened fire, striking the victim in the shoulder, police said.
Body-worn camera footage shows officers at the scene of the initial shooting when the suspect, 22-year-old Sidi Muhammad Abdullah, emerged from an alley and opened fire on an officer and a Chicago Fire Department ambulance.
Several gunshots can be heard moments later, followed by a pause and then a volley of gunfire before the suspect is seen lying on the sidewalk. The exchange of gunfire took place within about three minutes.
COPA's report on the shooting indicates that five of the 10 responding officers fired their weapons.
Abdullah suffered several gunshot wounds to his body and was treated in the hospital. He was charged with hate crime, attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated battery.
Abdullah died on November 30 while in custody at the Cook County Jail. The Cook County Sheriff's Office said sheriff's deputies found him unconscious in his cell in an “apparent suicide attempt.”
As of Thursday, the cause and manner of death had not been determined by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
