High School Senior Accused Of Shooting Father During FaceTime Call With Cousin

OAK LAWN, IL—A high school senior who turned 18 just a few weeks ago was ordered detained in the deadly shooting of his father. Sami Mdanat appeared Thursday before Cook County Judge William Fahy on a first-degree murder charge.

Before the pre-detention began, the assistant public defender asked that Mdanat be allowed to sit in a chair because of leg weakness.

The prosecutor said Mdanat lived with his parents in an apartment complex in the 10400 block of South Austin Avenue. Around 10:45 p.m. Monday, Oak Lawn police responded to a call of a person shot. When officers arrived, they found a man, later identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner as 50-year-old Ayed Mdanat, suffering from gunshot wounds.

Earlier in the afternoon, a cousin was visiting Mdanat. Sometime during the visit, the prosecutor said Mdanat retrieved a long-barrel gun from behind the television and showed it to his cousin. Sometime after 10 p.m., the father was getting upset that the cousin was still over. An argument ensued between the father, son and cousin, the prosecutor said.

The cousin left and was sitting in his vehicle in front of the apartment building when Mdanat called him on FaceTime. The prosecutor said the cousin could see Mdanat holding the gun and his phone.

Mdanat allegedly told his cousin that if his dad came through his bedroom door, he was going to shoot him.

The cousin said he could hear the older Mdanat banging on his son’s bedroom door during the FaceTime call. Both were arguing through the door. The prosecutor said Mdanat put the phone down, giving his cousin a ceiling view on his phone. The cousin continued to hear yelling and pounding. Eventually, the older Mdanat entered his son’s room. The prosecutor said Mdanat shot his father with a Draco .762 semi-automatic handgun, which resembled a small assault rifle, several times.

Mdanat’s mother also heard the gunshots. She ran into her son’s room and found him sitting on a couch. The cousin said he could hear Mdanat’s mother screaming and asking, “What did you do?” He also told police he heard four gunshots before Mdanat’s mother disconnected the FaceTime call, the prosecutor said.

His mother did not remember where she found the gun, but she picked it up and ran to the unit of her nephew, who also lives in the building, for help. The prosecutor said Mdanat’s mother picked up three spent shell casings and threw them in the garbage pail.

Oak Lawn police arrived on the scene after having received multiple 911 calls. The older Mdanat was found inside his son’s bedroom, facedown on the couch. The prosecutor said the father was bleeding profusely from the abdomen. Officers found the Draco .762 and also recovered three spent shell casings in the garbage pail, which the prosecutor said matched the recovered firearm.

Officers searched the neighborhood and found Mdanat several houses down the street hiding in some bushes, the prosecutor said. The 18-year-old was taken into custody.

The older Mdanat was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.

Various neighbors in the complex told police they heard loud arguing coming from the Mdanat apartment and then numerous gunshots.

The nephew also confirmed that his aunt showed up at his door holding the gun and yelling that her son shot his father, the prosecutor said.

The assistant public defender said Mdanat was a senior at Delta Learning Center in Crestwood. He spent a month in the hospital and needed medical assistance with his colostomy bag. Mdanat is also in physical therapy due to weakened legs. The assistant public defender said the evidence supports the attack was provoked.

“His dad is twice his son’s size,” the assistant public defender said. “The victim is screaming and upset. When you get the photos, you’ll see the victim broke through my client’s door. He’s arguing through the door [when] his dad comes barreling toward my client when the alleged shooting occurred.”

The prosecutor told the judge that it was not true that it was a provoked attack.

“There was not a splintered door frame,” she said. “Everyone knows it’s normal for teens to fight with their parents. What’s not normal is pulling out a gun and shooting them.”

Judge Fahy said the fact that Mdanat fled “showed a consciousness of guilt.”

“He was found hiding in bushes as his father gasped for his final breaths,” the judge said. “Absolutely, he poses a real and present threat.”

Mdanat was ordered detained pending trial at Cook County Jail. He is due back in court May 29 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.