A landlord from the state of Illinois in the United States of America was charged with the murder of a six-year-old boy and the attempted murder of a woman who is believed to be the boy’s mother. The horrendous crime took place on Sunday and has been linked to the Israel-Hamas war, making it a hate crime. The police have reported that both victims were targeted because of their religious beliefs and ethnicity.
The world is shaken up due to the war between Israel and Hamas. Many innocent lives have been claimed in such a short time by means which makes us question whether humanity still exists within the heart of the people who are committing such horrendous activities. People are being butchered like cattle, tortured, used as shields, and even held captive to threaten each other, but the danger does not exist only in the parameters of Israel and Gaza.
Hate crimes across the world have increased significantly after the war began. Many innocent civilians were targeted due to their ethnicities and religious beliefs and a six-year-old boy lost his life due to it.
The Murder of the Six-Year-Old
Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Muslim boy was stabbed 26 times by Joseph Czuba who is 71 years old. The boy later died due to his injuries and was announced dead in the hospital. Hanan Shaheen, a 32-year-old woman was also attacked by the landlord and is the mother of the 6-year-old boy who lost his life.
The boy and his mother were tenants of the landlord who were attacked due to their religion. The landlord, Joseph Czuba, a 71-year-old man stabbed the 6-year-old boy and the 32-year-old woman with a military knife with a seven-inch or an 18cm long blade.
The 32-year-old woman suffered more than a dozen stabs while the boy was stabbed 26 times. The serrated military-style knife that was used to stab them was later retrieved from the abdomen of the boy during the autopsy.
The woman managed to escape to the bathroom where she locked herself in and called the authorities. When police arrived, they found Joseph Czuba sitting on the ground near the driveway with a laceration on his forehead while the victims were found in the bedroom. He was later taken to the hospital for treatment and was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes, and aggravated battery
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that both, the mother and the child were Palestinian-American. The mother has been staying in the U.S. for 12 years while the 6-year-old boy was born in America itself. On October 6th, he celebrated his birthday. The boy loved basketball, soccer, and anything with a ball. He also loved coloring and playing on swings. The young boy was loved by his family and friends and he loved them with the same passion and grace.
Oday Al-Fayoume, the boy’s father was in utter shock at the press conference. A father who just lost his child mustered up the courage to speak at the news conference in Arabic and translated it right after. He said, Gratitude to God in any situation.
When he was asked about the best way the masses could honor his son, he said that he wanted to see accountability for Wadea Al-Fayoume’s life being taken so soon.
He added to the statement by saying that the memory of his son would live with them but for them to believe that the little boy’s life was meaningful, justice needed to be achieved.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, President Joe Biden posted a message saying that Jill and I(Joe Biden) were sickened to learn of the brutal murder of a child and the attempted murder of the child’s mother yesterday in Illinois. Our condolences and prayers are with the family.
Rehab said that he viewed the text messages from the boy’s mother to the boy’s father saying that Czuba, the landlord knocked on their door Saturday morning and attacked her and made anti-Muslim statements. The texts stated that she went into the bathroom, dialed 911, and when she came out, she found her son with multiple stab wounds.
Rehab said that Joseph Czuba had built a Treehouse for the child to play in, and the family had no previous problems with him in the past. What level of blind hatred, could make someone commit such an act?
