Joseph M. Czuba poses for a police booking photograph after being arrested by the Will County Sheriff's Office in Illinois, U.S., in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on October 15, 2023.
Will County Sheriff/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsOct 15 (Reuters) - An Illinois man was charged with hate crimes for stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother in an attack that targeted them for their religion and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, officials and Muslim rights activists said on Sunday.
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 suspect, Joseph Czuba, 71, 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 said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) identified the boy as Wadea Al-Fayoume and said the woman, Hanaan Shahin, was his mother.
Persons:
Joseph M, Joseph Czuba, Czuba, Wadea, Hanaan Shahin, Christopher Wray, we've, Wray, Daniel Trotta, Lisa Shumaker
Organizations:
Reuters, Will County Sheriff, REUTERS Acquire, Czuba, Islamic Relations, FBI, International Association of Chiefs, Police, Thomson
Locations:
Will, Illinois, U.S, Will County, An Illinois, Israel, Plainfield Township, Chicago, San Diego, Carlsbad , California