Muslim boy killed and woman wounded in Illinois hate crime

A 71yearold Illinois man accused of fatally stabbing a 6yearold boy and seriously wounding a 32yearold woman was charged with a hate crime Sunday Police said he singled out the victims because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas the Associated Press reportedIn the case officers found the woman and boy late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township about 40 miles 65 kilometers southwest of Chicago the Will County Sheriffs Office said in a statement on social mediaThe boy was pronounced dead at a hospital according to the AP report The woman had multiple stab wounds and was expected to survive according to the statement An autopsy on the child showed he had been stabbed dozens of timesldquoDetectives 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 Israelisrdquo the sheriffs statement saidAccording to the Will County sheriffs office the woman had called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife adding she then ran into a bathroom and continued to fight him offThe man suspected in the attack was found Saturday outside the home and ldquositting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residencerdquo with a cut on his forehead authorities saidJoseph M Czuba of Plainfield was charged with firstdegree murder attempted firstdegree murder two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon according to the sheriffs office He was in custody Sunday and awaiting a court appearanceAuthorities did not release the names of the two victimsAlso read US prez Joe Biden warns Israel that occupation of Gaza would be a ldquobig mistakeBoys paternal uncle Yousef Hannon spoke at a news conference Sunday hosted by the Chicago chapter Council on AmericanIslamic Relations There the boy was identified as Wadea AlFayoume a Palestinian American boy who recently had turned 6 The organisation identified the other victim as the boys motherldquoWe are not animals we are humans We want people to see us as humans to feel us as humans to deal with us as humans because this is what we arerdquo said Hannon a Palestinian American who emigrated to the US in 1999 to work including as a public school teacherThe Muslim civil liberties organisation called the crime ldquoour worst nightmarerdquo and part of a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of the IsraelHamas war The group cited text messages exchanged among family members that showed the attacker had made disparaging remarks about MuslimsldquoPalestinians basically again with their hearts broken over whats happening to their peoplerdquo said Ahmed Rehab the groups executive director ldquohave to also worry about the immediate safety of life and limb living here in this most free of democracies in the worldIn response to the increased threats the Illinois State Police are communicating with federal lawenforcement and reaching out to Muslim communities and religious leaders to offer support according to a Sunday press release from Illinois Democratic Gov JB PritzkerldquoTo take a sixyearold childs life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil Pritzker said Wadea should be heading to school in the morning Instead his parents will wake up without their son This wasnt just a murder it was a hate crime And every single Illinoisan including our Muslim Jewish and Palestinian neighbors deserves to live free from the threat of such evilrdquoPresident Joe Biden echoed that sentiment Sunday saying in a statement ldquoThis 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 arerdquo With inputs from AP