2023-10-16 05:36:01
CHICAGO (AP) — A 71-year-old Illinois man accused of stabbing a 6-year-old boy to death and seriously injuring a 32-year-old woman was charged Sunday with a hate crime. Police alleged he attacked the victims because of their Islamic faith and in response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
In recent days, local police and federal authorities in the United States have been on alert for violence fueled by anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim movements. Members of the FBI, as well as Jewish and Muslim groups, have reported an increase in threatening or hateful messages.
In the Chicago-area case, officers found the woman and child late Saturday morning at a home in an area of Plainfield Township, regarding 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media.
The child’s death was certified at the hospital. The woman had several stab wounds and was expected to survive, according to the release. An autopsy of the child showed that she had received dozens of stab wounds.
“Detectives were able to determine that the two victims in this brutal attack were singled out by the suspect because they were Muslims and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and the Israelis,” the police statement said.
According to county police, the woman had called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife and added that she had run to a bathroom and was still trying to fight him off.
The man suspected of the attack was found on Saturday outside the house “sitting on the ground near the entrance to the residence” with a cut on his forehead, according to authorities.
Joseph M. Czuba, of Plainfield, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to police. He remained in custody Sunday pending a court appearance.
Attempts to contact Czuba or a family member were unsuccessful Sunday.
Authorities did not release the names of the two victims, but the boy’s paternal uncle, Yousef Hannon, spoke Sunday at a news conference hosted by the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. There the little boy was identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American boy who had turned six shortly before. The organization identified the other victim as the child’s mother.
“We are not animals, we are humans. “We want people to see us as humans, not feel like humans, treat us as humans, because that’s who we are,” said Hannon, a Palestinian American who immigrated to the United States in 1999 to work, and has held positions as a teacher. school.
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