A 71-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder and hate crime in Plainfield, Illinois, for stabbing a six-year-old boy and his 32-year-old mother, killing the former and seriously wounding the latter, due to being Muslims, against the backdrop of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. This was reported by the sheriff's office.
Joseph M Czuba, owner of the apartment where the victims lived, ended up in handcuffs. They would be Wadea Al-Fayoume and her mother Hanaan Shahin.
"Investigators were able to determine that both victims of this brutal attack had been targeted by the suspect because of their being Muslims and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and Israelis," the Will County Sheriff's Office reported. "Joseph Czuba has not made any statement to investigators regarding his involvement in this heinous attack. Despite this, the staff was able to gather enough information through interviews and evidence to formally charge Joseph Czuba with numerous criminal offenses."
At the scene, officers found the suspect sitting on the ground near the driveway of the house and inside they found the child and the woman, each with more than a dozen stab wounds to the chest, torso and arms. The child was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased, the mother is hospitalized in serious condition, but it is expected that he will survive.
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