A 71-year-old white Illinois man has been arrested after attacking a Muslim woman and her six-year-old son, stabbing both of them repeatedly, resulting in the boy dying from more than a dozen wounds, Politico reports. Expected to survive despite being stabbed multiple times herself, the mother was able to call 9-1-1 to report her landlord was threatening the family with a knife because he was angry about the Hamas attack on Israel.
According to a statement by Democratic Illinois Governor J.D. Pritzker, the child, identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, was stabbed 26 times. Police arrested 71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba of Plainfield, who was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Officials said there has been a sharp increase in threats against both Jewish and Muslim populations since Hamas’s attack on Israel last week. Pritzker condemned the attack, calling it “a hate crime,” although he did not say if his administration would pursue hate crime enhancements for Czuba’s charges.