On October 14, 2023, a six-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Chicago, Illinois. The 71-year-old landlord turned on the six-year-old child, who was his tenant at their home in Plainfield Township. The landlord stabbed the six-year-old boy and his mother repeatedly with a serrated knife that had a seven-inch blade. The child identified as Wadea Al- Fayoume was stabbed 26 times and was pronounced dead at the hospital, while his mother, 32, was stabbed more than a dozen times before authorities showed up. Authorities were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the landlord due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and Israelis. According to the CAIR, the landlord knocked on the door, and when Wadea opened the door he aggressively started choking her and attacked her with a knife yelling “You Muslims must die”. She then ran into the bathroom to call 911, when she came back out she found the landlord had fatally stabbed her son. She stated that “It all happened in seconds”.
The 71-year-old, Joseph M. Czuba, is being held on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
“He was a playful child really full of energy,” Ms. Jagodzinski said. “Kids are innocent. This really destroys so many hearts.” The governor also stated “The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek: a refuge to live, learn and pray in peace,” he said. “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.”
The family held the funeral on Monday 16, 2023 to lay the six-year-old boy to rest, in Muslim tradition in Chicago, Illinois.
