The US Justice Department has opened a federal hate crime investigation after an Illinois landlord allegedly stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy to death and seriously wounded his mother because the family is Muslim.
Joseph M. Czuba, 71, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
The sheriff's office said Czuba did not make a statement to detectives, but investigators determined the victims were "targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis."
The Justice Department "will use every legal authority at our disposal to bring to justice those who perpetrate illegal acts of hate," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
"This incident cannot help but further raise the fears of Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities in our country with regard to hate-fueled violence," Garland said. "The Department of Justice is focused on protecting the safety and the civil rights of every person in this country."
Authorities were called to the residence in unincorporated Plainfield Township, roughly 40 miles southwest of Chicago, shortly before noon Saturday after a woman called 911 saying her landlord had attacked her, according to the sheriff's office.
When deputies arrived, they found Czuba sitting on the ground, near the home's driveway, the release said. The two victims were found in a bedroom, each with "multiple stab wounds," and were taken to a hospital, according to the release.
The boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, was stabbed 26 times and died from his injuries. His 32-year-old mother, Hanaan Shahin, who had more than a dozen stab wounds, is recovering at the hospital and is expected to survive, the office said.
The family had lived on the house's ground floor for two years without "previous notable issues" with Czuba, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement. But in texts to the boy's father from the hospital after the attack, Shahin said the landlord "knocked on their door, and when she opened, he tried to choke her and proceeded to attack her with a knife, yelling, 'you Muslims must die,'" according to the statement.
Czuba was taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and is awaiting his initial court appearance, according to the sheriff's office. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
"To take a six year old child's life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement.
"Every single Illinoisan -- including our Muslim, Jewish and Palestinian neighbors -- deserves to live free from the threat of such evil," the governor said. "Today, MK and I join our Muslim and Palestinian brothers and sisters in mourning this tragic loss and praying for the recovery of Wadea's mother."
"May Wadea Al-Fayoume's memory be a blessing."
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expressed shock over the attack in a White House statement. "The child's Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek -- a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace, the statement said.
The "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," the statement from the White House read. "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," the statement said.
On Saturday, Israel's military said its forces are readying for the next stages of the war in response to the unprecedented October 7 attacks by the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza. At least 1,400 people were killed during Hamas' rampage, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN on Sunday.
In response, Israel has pounded Gaza with airstrikes that have killed more than 2,750 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Conditions there have deteriorated into a "complete catastrophe," aid workers say, as tens of thousands of Palestinians try to flee south with dwindling access to water and food, prompting concerns of a humanitarian crisis.
A child who had just celebrated his birthday
Wadea had celebrated his birthday shortly before his death, Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago's executive director, said in a news conference Sunday.
"He was a 6-year-old boy, he loved everything," Rehab said of the child, recalling how Wadea's father had described him.
"He loved everybody, he loved his toys, he loved anything with a ball, basketball, soccer, he loved to color, he loved to swing around, he loved his parents, he loved his family and his friends, he loved life and he was looking forward to a long, healthy, prosperous life," he added during the news conference.
"He has no clue about these larger issues happening in the world but he was made to pay for it," Rehab added.
Wadea's mother and father had moved to the United States 12 and nine years ago, respectively, and their son was born here, Rehab added. They were from a village in the West Bank, he said.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, CAIR National wrote they were "shocked and disturbed" to hear of the boy's death.
"The Islamophobic rhetoric and anti-Palestinian racism being spread by politicians, media outlets, and social media platforms must stop."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it "strongly condemns the heinous act of racism and hatred that led to the death of a 6-year-old Palestinian child and the serious injury of his mother."
"The ministry also condemns the incitement campaigns, attacks, racist statements, and provocative positions that have been directed against Palestinian citizens and several Palestinian embassies and ambassadors in some countries," it said in a statement, adding that it "calls on all nations to confront these actions and to hold their promoters and those behind them accountable."