Palestinian-American Boy
A U.S. landlord faces charges of murder and hate crimes after allegedly stabbing a Muslim woman and a six-year-old boy multiple times in an attack that authorities have linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The child, who sustained 26 stab wounds, tragically lost his life, while the 32-year-old woman, believed to be his mother, is expected to survive the “heinous” attack that occurred on Saturday, according to a statement from the Will County sheriff’s office in Illinois.
The sheriff’s statement revealed, “Detectives 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 Israelis.” The incident took place approximately 40 miles west of Chicago, but the statement did not provide further details about the victims’ nationality.
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) identified the child as Palestinian-American. Authorities reported that the woman managed to call 911 while defending herself against the landlord, identified as 71-year-old Joseph Czuba by the sheriff’s office.
When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Czuba with a laceration on his forehead. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and subsequently charged with murder, attempted murder, and two counts of hate crimes.
According to Ahmed Rehab, the head of CAIR’s Chicago office, the woman sent text messages from her hospital bed, recounting that Czuba had knocked on her door, attempted to choke her, and uttered, “you Muslims must die.”
The attack has been described as “our worst nightmare” by CAIR in a statement. U.S. President Joe Biden also condemned the killing of the boy as a “horrific act of hate.” The attack occurred in the midst of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which had escalated into a full-scale war, resulting in significant casualties and devastation in the Gaza Strip.
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