A six-year-old Palestinian-American boy was fatally stabbed and his mother was wounded by their landlord in an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war, police in Illinois say.
The boy was stabbed 26 times and his 32-year-old mother more than 12 times in the shocking attack at a property in Plainfield Township, outside Chicago, on Saturday morning.
“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,” Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
On Sunday the boy’s father identified the victim as Wadea Al-Fayoume and confirmed that the boy and his mother are Palestinian.
Authorities say that when deputies arrived at the scene they found Joseph Czuba sitting on the ground near the home. They responded to the address after the woman called 911 and said she was being attacked by her landlord.
The identity of the victims, who were found inside a bedroom, has not been made public and investigators say that a military-style knife was found at the scene of the stabbing.
The 71-year-old suspect has been charged with one count each of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crime.……
https://www.the-independent.com/new...stabbing-boy-palestinian-muslim-b2430157.html