Man charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing colleague in Skokie

A man attempted to stab his coworker to death earlier this month in Skokie, according to information from Skokie police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The state’s attorney has charged Ali Shirsamilian, 30, of Skokie, with attempted first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing a colleague in the back multiple times with a three-inch knife he brought to work on July 2, a state petition shows. 

Skokie Police Department reportedly responded to a report of a stabbing in the 5100 block of Howard Street around 8:19 a.m. on July 2 and located an individual who said he was stabbed by his coworker while the two were landscaping outside of a house. 

Officers approached a man later identified as Shirsamilian, who dropped a kitchen knife before getting on his knees, according to a police bulletin and state proffer. 

Emergency personnel transported the victim to a hospital, where he got stitches for a stab wound in his back and a stab wound in his right shoulder, the proffer states. Denise Franklin, Skokie’s deputy chief of police, said in an email that the hospital discharged the victim shortly thereafter.

The victim told officers that he was bent forward digging weeds when he “felt several punches in his back,” according to the proffer. 

The victim told police he turned and saw Shirsalimian holding what appeared to be a kitchen knife. The victim held up his shovel, ran into the house and later realized the “punches” was actually a stabbing, the proffer states. 

Shirsamilian told officers he stabbed the man “because (he) wanted to and that the victim was an easy target,” according to the state’s proffer.

Additionally, Shirsamilian reportedly told officers he brought the kitchen knife from his home, had intended to stab someone when he left his house and “that his intent was to kill the person he stabbed.”

“The offender, Ali Shirsalimian, was taken into custody at the scene within minutes of the Skokie Police Officers’ arrival,” Franklin wrote. “As a result, the Skokie Police Department was not seeking the public’s assistance in locating an offender.”

Shirsamilian also “indicated that he had previously stabbed his father in October,” the proffer states. 

Public records show Shirsamilian was arrested in October; however, prosecutors filed no charges in connection with that alleged incident because “the victim requested not to proceed with prosecution,” a spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said via email.

Following the July 2 attack, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Shirsalimian with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. If convicted of attempted first degree murder, Shirsamilian could face up to 30 years in prison. 

State prosecutors requested that Shirsalimian be held in jail while awaiting trial and a Cook County judge ordered Shirsalimian detained on July 4. His next court date is set for July 31.

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