[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Whoa. This is horrific. A 6-year-old boy in Illinois was fatally stabbed by his family’s landlord over the weekend. And the motive? It all allegedly stems from the violent war between Hamas and Israel.
According to a press release from the Will County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba (pictured above, in his mugshot) of Plainfield Township was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for killing the child and injuring his mother. The tragic attack took place on Saturday when deputies were called to the residence by a 32-year-old woman who reported her landlord attacked her with a knife.
When cops arrived at the property, they found Joseph “sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence” with “a laceration to his forehead.” He “was later transported to a local area hospital for treatment.” Meanwhile, both victims were discovered in a bedroom with “multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso and upper extremities.” They were taken to the hospital and the child was said to be in critical condition until he “later succumbed to his injuries.”
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Horrifyingly, an autopsy of the boy revealed he was “stabbed 26 times throughout his body.” The knife, which was removed from the victim by the forensic pathologist, was described as a 12-inch serrated military-style weapon with a 7-inch blade. So, so devastating. This senseless act of violence should NEVER have occurred in the first place — let alone to an innocent child! And stabbing him nearly three dozen times?! WTF??
The woman was in serious condition, but as of Sunday, she is “recovering from her injuries” at the hospital and is expected to survive, according to the police. We cannot imagine the pain and grief she must be feeling in light of this shocking loss, though.
After being released from the hospital, Czuba was taken to the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex for questioning. While he didn’t give cops a statement about the incident, they found enough info via interviews and evidence to charge him. He is currently in a detention facility awaiting his court appearance. While informing the public about this vicious attack, the sheriff’s office noted they believe it was a result of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, saying:
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”
Jeez.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released a heartfelt statement on Sunday sharing how “shocked and sickened” they are about this tragedy, writing in part:
“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace. 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. As Americans, we 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. We join everyone here at the White House in sending our condolences and prayers to the family, including for the mother’s recovery, and to the broader Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities.”
While the authorities did not release the victims’ names, the boy was identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, via the Associated Press. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)‘s Chicago office — which held a conference with his uncle, Yousef Hannon — confirmed the woman was his mother. Ahmed Rehab, the CAIR-Chicago executive director, also condemned the hate crime, sharing:
“Our hearts are heavy, and our prayers are with the darling boy and his mother. As we await the official investigation of the local authorities, what we can confirm at the moment is that we have a murdered child in his own home, a six-year-[old] who had just celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago, and a mother lying in the hospital in serious condition, both stabbed over a dozen times. […] We have full confidence in the authorities to investigate this heinous incident as a hate crime and to do so swiftly.”
Our hearts break for this family and all those who have been impacted by the Israel war. May he rest in peace.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
To learn more about civil rights issues, check out https://www.splcenter.org/.
If you’re experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit their website at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline for more resources.
[Image via Will County Sheriff’s Office]
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