Landlord stabs Palestinian- American child to death, injures mother in hate crime

Joseph Czuba, a 71-year-old man has stabbed a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy to death while also injuring his 32-year-old mother in Plainfield, Illinois USA in what local police have confirmed is a hate crime.

The Palestinian-American family was reportedly attacked by the man after he got influenced watching and reading about the conflict in the Middle East.

Czuba reportedly shouted “You Muslims must die” as he entered the family’s rented home and attacked the mother. When she ran to the bathroom to call 911, Czuba stabbed six-year-old 26 times, killing him on the spot.

President Joe Biden has released a statement, saying that he is “sickened” by the incident.

“This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are,” he said.

“As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred.”

Czuba has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes and aggravated battery.

Will County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday that they received an emergency call while the woman was fighting the killer.

She “ran into the bathroom and continued to fight off her attacker”, he explained.

By the time the police reached the scene, the mother and the child had “multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso, and upper extremities”.

Bothwere taken to hospital, but the boy who was reportedly stabbed 26 times couldn’t survive the attack.

Czuba, on the other hand, sat “upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence.”

“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Sheriff’s office added.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) identified the boy as Wadea al-Fayoume, and his mother as Hanaan Shahin.

Wadea was born in the US, while his mother was originally from Beitunia in the West Bank and came to the country 12 years ago.

According to CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed Rehab, Wadea had celebrated his birthday only a few weeks back.

I’m disgusted by this horrific violent hate crime that targeted an innocent Illinois mother and child because they are Muslim.

I condemn the barbaric, cold-blooded murder of six year old Wadea Al-Fayoume and hope the bigoted attacker is brought to justice. https://t.co/mc8EOkMeoE

— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) October 16, 2023

https://t.co/rCFA8fzCq4 pic.twitter.com/tIbFM3uYZp

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 15, 2023

My heart is broken hearing the news of the gruesome murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al-Fayoume. And my prayers are with his mother, Hanaan Shahin, as she recovers from more than a dozen stab wounds and the reality of the loss of her sweet boy.

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) October 16, 2023