On Saturday, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy named Wadea Al-Fayoume was killed after being stabbed 26 times in his suburban home. His mother also suffered dozens of stab wounds, and is hospitalized as she fights for her life.
Law enforcement and authorities from Will County, where the attack occurred, determined it was a hate crime and that the mother and son’s landlord targeted them over the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
The landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba of Plainfield, has been arrested and charged with multiple criminal offenses. His first court appearance was Monday, where a request for release under electronic monitoring was denied and he was ordered detained. His next hearing is in two weeks.
Take a look at our coverage of an attack that authorities have called “senseless and cowardly” and that has drawn national attention. Here’s what to know:
Wadea Al-Fayoume was a Palestinian-American boy who lived near Plainfield with his 32-year-old mother, Hanaan Shahin. The 6-year-old who celebrated his birthday Oct. 6 was a student in Plainfield School District 202. According to relatives, Shahin had moved to the United States 12 years ago, and the boy’s father followed three years later, both escaping conflict in the Middle East. The parents are originally from the city of Beitunia in Palestine’s West Bank.
But the violence they fled found them again just days after Waeda turned 6. His father remembered the boy for his love for “everything” and “everybody.” An online fundraiser to help the family with funeral and medical expenses says Wadea “was a bright and energetic young boy who loved basketball and soccer. He liked swings and coloring. He loved his family and his friends, he loved life.”
When deputies from the Will County sheriff’s office responded to a 911 call Saturday morning in the 16200 block of South Lincoln Highway in unincorporated Plainfield Township, they found Joseph Czuba, 71, sitting on the ground outside his home near the driveway. He had a laceration to his forehead, a knife holster on his waist and several pocket knives at his feet, according to police and prosecutors.
For the last two years, Czuba had been renting out the ground floor of the house to Shahin and her son. Family said they had coexisted without incident. According to prosecutors, after listening to conservative talk radio and becoming “heavily interested” in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas, the landlord paid a visit to his Muslim tenants. He then reportedly stabbed mother and son dozens of times, killing Wadea and seriously injuring Shahin.
Czuba appeared for an initial hearing at the Will County Courthouse on Monday. He faced various criminal charges, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
His defense attorney, Kylie Blatti of the Will County public defender’s office, requested that Czuba be released under electronic monitoring, saying he is a veteran of the Air Force, is self-employed and owns property in Plainfield and Joliet. He also suffers from medical problems, Blatti said.
Judge Donald DeWilkins denied the request, ordering Czuba held in custody. His next court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 30.
The attack has prompted swift condemnation from elected officials across the state and the country, including President Joe Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. Federal authorities including the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have also launched their own investigations into the attack.
“This act of hate against a Palestinian Muslim family has no place in America,” Biden wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal.”