A young boy in Illinois was stabbed to death last week by a man who was reportedly angry about the Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel.
The suspect, Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American, 26 times with a large military-style knife, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office. Czuba also allegedly stabbed the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, 32, more than a dozen times.
Both mother and child were transported to a local hospital, where Al-Fayoume was pronounced dead. Shahin was reportedly in serious condition but is expected to survive.
Text messages sent to the boy’s father allege that Czuba shouted at the family, “You Muslims must die!” right before the attack, the New York Post reported.
The Sheriff’s Office said investigators believe Czuba wanted to kill his victims “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”
The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claimed the stabbing was part of a spike in hate crimes targeting Muslims.
CAIR-Chicago alleged that Czuba was angry after seeing news reports of the conflict in Israel. Czuba reportedly knocked on the family’s door, and when Shahin opened the door, he purportedly choked her and then began stabbing her and her son with a knife.
President Joe Biden denounced the stabbing attack in a statement released Sunday night.
“Jill and I were shocked and sickened to learn of the brutal murder of a six-year-old child and the attempted murder of the child’s mother in their home yesterday in Illinois,” Biden said.
The president called the attack a “horrific act of hate.” “Americans … must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone.”
The incident occurred the same day that FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of the rising threat of terror attacks spreading into the United States due to the fighting between Hamas and Israel.
“History has been witness to antisemitic and other forms of violent extremism for far too long. Whether that be from foreign terrorist organizations, or those inspired by them, or domestic violent extremists motivated by their own racial animus, the targeting of a community because of their faith is totally unacceptable,” Wray told a conference of police chiefs in San Diego over the weekend, as reported by The Hill.
“We remain committed to continue confronting those threats — both here in the United States and overseas. In this heightened environment, there’s no question we’re seeing an increase in reported threats, and we’ve got to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own,” Wray continued.
Czuba was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, murder has been on the rise in Dallas, clocking a roughly 10% year-over-year increase. Hate crimes, however, have dipped down, according to the City of Dallas victim demographics dashboard.