'Warning Shot' In Skokie Led To Firearm Charges: Police Reports

SKOKIE, IL — A West Rogers Park man faces felony firearm charges after witnesses said he fired a "warning shot" out the window of a car in Skokie last month, according to police reports.

Qasim Mahdi, 23, of the 2800 block of West Glenlake Avenue, Chicago, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon following his arrest on Nov. 23.

Officers reported getting a call of shots fired around 8:45 a.m. that day. A witness explained Mahdi, the front passenger in a Honda Civic, had pointed and made a "gun gesture" with his hand at the caller as they drove north on Lawndale Avenue.

The 911 caller, who said they had not spoken to the driver, a 23-year-old Skokie woman and former acquaintance, or Mahdi since February, followed the Honda as it turned down Main Street and north on Crawford Avenue, according to police reports.

The caller told police he wanted to speak to the driver and the passenger about the gesture and called Mahdi's cell phone to ask him to have the driver pull over the car.

According to police reports, Mahdi responded by "yelling and speaking nonsensically" before brandishing a long-barreled black revolver out of the passenger side window between Main and Dempster streets, officers were told.

As the two cars continued north on Crawford Avenue past Church Street, Mahdi fired a single shot into the ground, multiple witnesses told police.

They described hearing a loud pop and seeing a puff of smoke coming from the barrel of the gun Mahdi was holding outside the window, officers reported.

After the gunfire, the caller stopped following the Honda, went home and called police, according to the reports. Officers found Mahdi and the Skokie woman in the 9600 block of Kedvale Avenue and placed them both into custody around 10 a.m.

During questioning, the driver said she did not know that Mahdi had a gun before the incident, but he told her he was going to fire a "warning shot" to stop the caller from continuing to follow them, officers reported.

According to police, she admitted helping Mahdi hide the gun after the shooting but told officers where to find it. She was released without charges.

The revolver, a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum, turned out to have been reported stolen from Georgia in 1988, according to police. Prosecutors reportedly decided against charging Mahdi with possession of a stolen firearm because Mahdi did not necessarily know the gun was stolen.

According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, Mahdi faces three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Reckless discharge is a class 4 felony, and when it is committed by a passenger, a driver is responsible only if the shooting is done with their "knowledge and consent."

At a bond hearing on Nov. 24, Mahdi was ordered to provide $5,000 in cash and undergo electronic monitoring. He posted the money on Nov. 26 and was placed on house arrest. He could not be reached for comment.

Records of the shooting were revealed only after the Public Access Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's Office opened a review into whether the village improperly denied Skokie Patch's request for them.

Earlier this month, Skokie village staff refused to release any details about the incident that led to Mahdi's arrest, instead providing almost entirely redacted reports on Dec. 4.

Following an intervention by the Attorney General's Office, village officials relented and Monday provided additional information required under the Freedom of Information Act.