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

But the move raised questions among Jewish security officials about whether the immigration status of the suspect, 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, should raise greater concerns — namely whether Chicago’s status as a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants could lead to a growing 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,” Richard Priem, acting CEO of the Community Security Service, a community-based Jewish security organization that trains volunteers in the whole country, he said Jewish Insider.

“What this means for us is that the heightened threat of violence that we’ve been operating in since October 7 just got another example of what that means – that people can be attacked by going to synagogue,” Priem said. “This is exactly the type of risk we train volunteers for and we will make sure we apply all the lessons learned in the briefings and field training.”

The shooting happened on October 26 in West Rogers Park, home to one of the city’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities. After shooting a 39-year-old Jewish man, who has not been named, wounding the man’s shoulder, the 22-year-old suspect, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he exchanged fire with police officers who they responded to the initials. shooting, according to video footage obtained by a doorbell camera.

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

Priem said there is “absolutely the possibility” of similar attacks, 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 there is any “larger “. the lessons to be learned, other than individual actors, are one of the major types of threats that Jewish communities and law enforcement are trying to protect against, and you never know when they’re going to spontaneously combust and try to attack.”

Single actors are “a real challenge,” Silber said, “because you’re trying to find the needle in the haystack. When there’s a group of a dozen people, from law enforcement and intelligence, there’s a much greater chance of leaks.”

Silber, who wrote a 2007 NYPD Intelligence Division report titled “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” added that he doesn’t see the incident — which received only sporadic media coverage outside of Chicago — turning into – a higher profile. news, even with the larger implications of immigration policy.

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

Jewish leaders in Chicago on Thursday applauded the updated charges.

“Designating these acts as hate crimes is important because it shows that Americans value tolerance and oppose anyone targeted on the basis of their religion. Hate crime allegations also underscore that society and our justice system reject intolerance and bigotry — an important message to send,” said Michael Masters, CEO of Secure Community Network and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Police Department. Chicago, in a statement to JI.

“The community felt that this was clearly a hate crime and an act of terror, and the charges now reflect that. As more details emerge, we will learn what fueled both allegations,” David Goldenberg, director of the Midwest Anti-Defamation League, told JI. “We’ve been on high alert for the past year already and beyond, no matter where an attack might come from,” Goldenberg said.

Councilwoman Debra Silverstein, who represents Ward 50, the district where the shooting took place, said the community “has always been on high alert.”

“I know this shooting has escalated everyone’s anxiety, but we are resilient and will continue,” Silverstein said. “My community has wanted to see hate crime charges all this time, so I think there’s a sense of relief that those charges have finally been laid. Charges of attempted murder are a bigger charge, but I think it was important for us, and for the world, to see that there was a hate crime here.”