Illinois Man Indicted on Murder, Hate Crime Charges for Stabbing Palestinian-American Child and Mother

71-year-old Joseph Czuba charged with the murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child and assault on his mother for their Islamic faith, allegedly due to Czuba's resentments over the Israel-Hamas conflicts, marking it a major hate crime incident in Illinois.

Joseph Czuba, 71, has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crime for fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy and assaulting his mother.
It is alleged that this brutal act was a response to the resentments Czuba harboured over the Israel-Hamas conflicts and targeted the victims based on their Islamic faith and Palestinian ethnicity.
The victims, Wadea Al-Fayoume and his mother Hanaan Shahin, were tenants of Czuba in Plainfield, Illinois. Wadea was stabbed 26 times, succumbing to his injuries while Shahin, who was also attacked, survived but suffered multiple stab injuries.
Czuba allegedly attacked the two following a conservative talk radio discussion of the Israel-Hamas war. This incident marks a major hate crime incident in Illinois amidst rising hostilities against Muslims and Palestinians in the U.S. following the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Hanaan Shahin, in her public statements, has called for peace and justice in the wake of the horrifying attack. Her son Wadea, fondly remembered as an angel, was celebrated by hundreds at his funeral and at a vigil in Chicago.
The case has drawn widespread attention and condemnation from President Joe Biden, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and numerous advocacy groups. The Department of Justice has also opened a federal hate crimes investigation into Wadea's death.