Illinois Man Indicted On Murder And Hate Crime Charges After Allegedly Killing Palestinian-American Child

Topline

Joseph Czuba, 71, was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on murder, attempted murder and hate crime charges after he allegedly stabbed and killed a Palestinian-American six-year-old and wounded the child’s mother, multiple news organizations reported—a response to his apparent grievances over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

A mugshot of Joseph M. Czuba, age 71, of Plainfield, Illinois. (Photo by Illinois Sheriff’s Office / … [+] Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Anadolu via Getty Images

Key Facts

The charges against him include three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of hate crime, according to online court records.

Czuba allegedly attacked Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, and Hanaan Shahin with a knife on October 14, killing the child and wounding the mother.

Will County, Illinois, Judge Donald DeWilkins ordered Czuba be put in jail and his next court hearing is scheduled for Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Prosecutors accused Czuba of “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty,” the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors also said Thursday Czuba had been listening to conservative talk radio discussion of the war between Israel and Hamas before he was allegedly inspired to attack the Palestinian-American family, according to the Tribune.

An attorney for Czuba could not be immediately reached for comment.

Key Background

On October 14, a week after Hamas militants attacked Israel, setting off a war, Czuba, who was the landlord of Al-Fayoume and Shanin, allegedly attacked his tenants with a knife in Plainfield, Illinois, a town southwest of Chicago. Prosecutors are calling it a targeted crime based on their ethnicity—Palestinian—and religion—Islam. Hundreds of people attended Al-Fayoume’s funeral and thousands more attended a vigil held for him last week in Chicago, the Tribune reported. Shahin is still recovering from her stab wounds, the AP reported. The incident has evoked condemnation from President Joe Biden and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Tangent

Also in Illinois, a Chicago-area man allegedly assaulted two Muslims and has been charged with a hate crime, while an Islamic day school was forced to cancel class after receiving threats, the AP reported. Additionally, a man recently brandished a pistol at attendees of a pro-Palestinian rally in Pennsylvania, a mosque in San Diego was vandalized and Palestinians in Michigan were threatened with violence, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has called on government officials and media outlets to stop “fanning an atmosphere of hate and de-humanization, not seen since the aftermath of 9/11.”

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