Illinois man found guilty of stabbing, killing 6-y.o. Palestinian boy
2 Min Read
In October 2023, just a week after Israel's war on Gaza began, Joseph Czuba brutally stabbed the Palestinian-American child 26 times.
-
Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Oday Alfayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)
A jury on Friday convicted Illinois landlord Joseph Czuba of murdering 6-year-old Palestinian American boy Wadee Alfayoumi in a hate crime.
Czuba, 73, of Plainfield, stabbed Wadee and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, who survived the attack, which occurred in October 2023, inside their rented rooms. On the day of the incident, Czuba forcibly entered Shaheen's room, attacked her with a knife, and she fled to the bathroom to call 911. Czuba then found Wadee and stabbed him 26 times.
The jury convicted Czuba of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and hate-crime charges.
Before the attack, Czuba had been discussing the Israeli war on Gaza and had asked the family to move out because they were Muslim, officials said. His ex-wife, who also lived in the house, testified that no tension had existed between Czuba and the tenants until after October 7. Afterward, Czuba became fearful of them due to their background, the Associated Press reported.
'Justice has been done'
Czuba faces a mandatory prison sentence of 20 to 60 years and is scheduled for sentencing in May.
Shaheen’s lawyers stated that they were “relieved” by the verdict but emphasized the need to “continue to stand against the rising tide of hate that led to this senseless act.”
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed that “justice has been done.”
At a news conference, CAIR Chicago’s executive director, Ahmed Rehab, criticized the portrayal of Palestinians by politicians and the media, which he believes contributed to Czuba's “radicalization process” after October 7.
CAIR reported a 70% increase in anti-Muslim discrimination complaints following the Israeli war on Gaza compared to the same period the previous year.
Since the war on Gaza began, Islamophobia and racially motivated hate crimes are becoming more commonplace, particularly in the US where some politicians have used inflammatory rhetoric against Palestinians.
Read next: Calls for hate crime probe after Detroit attack on Yemeni child
