- By Mayukh Debnath
- Mon, 16 Oct 2023 08:12 AM (IST)
- Source:REUTERS
A man has been charged with murder and hate crimes in the US state of Illinois for allegedly stabbing a Muslim woman and a six-year-old boy, believed to be the woman's son, in an act that the police believe was linked to the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant outfit Hamas, the police and Muslim activists said on 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. According to reports, the accused was the woman's landlord.
The boy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The 32-year-old woman sustained multiple stab wounds in the attack that took place on Saturday and is expected to make a recovery. The incident occurred in Plainfield Township, about 64 km southwest of Chicago.
Identified as 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, the accused was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the sheriff's office informed.
(Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with murder and hate crimes in the case. Pic credits: Reuters)
He was reportedly found sitting on the ground outside the home with a laceration to his forehead. The victims were in a bedroom, news agency Reuters reported. Although Czuba did not make any statements to detectives, as is his constitutional right, police said they determined the charges though through interviews and evidence.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) identified the boy as Wadea Al-Fayoume and said the woman, Hanaan Shahin, was his mother. "The Islamophobic rhetoric and anti-Palestinian racism being spread by politicians, media outlets, and social media platforms must stop," CAIR said on the social media platform X.
(With inputs from Reuters)
