Joseph M. Czuba accused of stabbing Muslim boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, more than 20 times to death and seriously injuring his mom in attack motivated by Hamas-Israel war

A 71-year-old Chicago man allegedly yelled ‘you Muslims must die!’ before fatally stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy and wounding his 32-year-old mother in a tragedy that appears to be influenced by the Hamas-Israel war. 

The boy, identified by the local chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, was Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was pronounced dead at the hospital after he was stabbed 26 times with a large military-style knife by Joseph M. Czuba, according to an autopsy Sunday. 

‘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 Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to social media.

Officers found both victims late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township, roughly 40 miles southwest of Chicago.

The mom had more than a dozen stab wounds on her body. She remained hospitalized Sunday but is expected to survive. 

Police charged 71-year-old suburban Chicago man Joseph M. Czuba (pictured left) Sunday with a hate crime for allegedly fatally stabbing 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume (pictured right) and seriously wounding his 32-year-old mother, in a crime where local authorities believe the killer was influenced by the Israel-Hamas war

Czuba was found Saturday outside ‘sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence’ with a cut on his forehead, police in Will County, Illinois.

Police charged him with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American boy who had recently turned 6, and his mother, Hanaan Shahin, were identified as the victims.

They had lived on the ground floor of the house for two years, according to the organization, saying the suspect was their landlord. 

Citing text messages from the mother to the boy’s father, the suspect reportedly yelled, ‘You Muslims must die!’ ahead of the stabbing, according to CAIR-Chicago.

The Muslim civil liberties organization called the crime ‘our worst nightmare,’ and part of a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of violence in the Middle East.

Speaking alongside the family members of the victims, CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said Czuba choked Shahin after they’d allowed him in their apartment. 

She briefly escaped to the bathroom to call 911 but by the time she returned, Czuba had found her son and murdered him, Rehab alleged. 

Speaking alongside the family members of the victims, CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said Czuba choked Shahin after they’d allowed him in their apartment

‘[Al-Fayoume] paid the price for the atmosphere of hate and otherization and dehumanization that, frankly, I think we are seeing here in the United States, as a result of the irresponsible leadership and lopsided, one-sided statements we are seeing in the media,’ Rehab said.

He then went on to compare the atmosphere that led to Al-Fayoume’s death to the one in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

‘We’ve warned about not creating the same mistake we had in the post-9/11 environment,’ he added.

‘We got promises that we would not fall back into that ugly, dark world again and here we are. Ultimately, the blame lies in the perpetrator, I blame the murder on the murderer.’

However, he still felt that the media and politicians had influenced Czuba, whom he said had interacted with the family several times before and caused no suspicion. 

Czuba has been taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and is awaiting an initial court appearance. It is not known if he has an attorney.