US landlord accused of killing Muslim boy, injuring woman in Islamophobic hate crime

[beijingwalker]

US landlord accused of killing Muslim boy, injuring woman in Islamophobic hate crime​

October. 15 2023

Ahmed Rehab from the Council on American-Islamic Relations embraces Odey Al-Fayoume, the father of the boy. (AP: Chicago Sun-Times)

A 71-year-old landlord accused of injuring his 32-year-old tenant and killing her six-year-old son has been charged with a hate crime.

Key points:​

• Police allege the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith
• The suspected killer has been arrested and charged
• The US is on high alert for attacks in response to the Israel-Gaza war

According to the Will County sheriff's office in Illinois, the woman called emergency services to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife before she ran into a bathroom and continued to fight him off.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital and an autopsy revealed he had been stabbed dozens of times.

The woman, who had multiple stab wounds, is expected to survive.

The suspect was found on Saturday "sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence" with a cut on his forehead, authorities said.

Joseph M Czuba was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the sheriff's office.

He was in custody on Sunday and awaiting a court appearance.

Police allege he singled out the victims because of their Islamic faith.

Joseph M Czuba has been charged with first-degree murder. (AP: Will County Sheriff's Office )

"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 sheriff's statement said.

Authorities did not release the names of the two victims.

But the boy's paternal uncle, Yousef Hannon, spoke at a news conference hosted by the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Sunday.

There the boy was identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American boy who had recently turned six.

The organisation identified the woman as the boy's mother.

"We are not animals, we are humans," Mr Hannon said.

"We want people to see us as humans, to feel us as humans, to deal with us as humans, because this is what we are.

Ahmed Rehab, the group's executive director, said: "Palestinians basically, again, with their hearts broken over what's happening to their people have to also worry about the immediate safety of life and limb living here in this most free of democracies in the world."

The home where a boy was killed and a woman was critically injured (AP: Chicago Sun-Times)

In recent days, police in US cities and federal authorities have been on high alert for violence driven by anti-Semitic or Islamophobic sentiments.

FBI officials, along with Jewish and Muslim groups, have reported increased hateful and threatening rhetoric.

The Muslim civil liberties organisation called the crime "our worst nightmare", and part of a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

The group cited text messages exchanged among family members that showed the attacker had made disparaging remarks about Muslims.

FBI director Chris Wray said on a call with reporters on Sunday that the FBI was moving quickly to mitigate the threats.

A senior FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity due rules set by the agency said the majority of the threats that it responded to were not judged to be credible, adding that the FBI took them all seriously nonetheless.

The official also said that agents had been encouraged to be "aggressive" and proactive in communicating over the past week with faith-based leaders.

The official said the purpose was not to make anyone feel targeted but rather to ask clerics and others to report to law enforcement anything that seems suspicious.

Muslim boy killed and mother injured in US hate crime

Police allege 71-year-old Joseph M Czuba injured his 32-year-old tenant and killed her six-year-old son due to the Israel-Gaza conflict and them being Muslims.

www.abc.net.au