6-Year-Old Killed By Landlord In Hate Crime Stabbing: Police

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, IL — A 6-year-old boy was killed after the child and his mother were stabbed dozens of times when their landlord attacked them because of their religion, according to police.

Joseph M. Czuba, 71, of Plainfield, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of committing a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the fatal stabbings Saturday, police said.

Deputies responded around 11:30 a.m. to a home in the 16200 block of South Lincoln Highway in Plainfield Township after the 32-year-old woman called 911 after attempting to fight off Czuba before hiding in a bathroom, according to police.

When deputies arrived, they found Czuba sitting outside near the driveway with a laceration on his forehead, police said. The boy and the mother were both stabbed in the chest, torso and upper extremities, according to police, who found them in a bedroom.

The victims were targeted due to their Muslim faith and in connection with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and Israel, police said, characterizing the attack as a “senseless and cowardly act of violence.” The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations identified the victims as Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American, and Hanaan Shahin, his mother.

Shahin was taken to a hospital in serious condition with over a dozen wounds, which she is expected to survive, according to police.

Al-Fayoume, whose age was originally misreported to authorities, was brought to a hospital in critical condition and died, according to police, who said a forensic pathologist removed the 7-inch serrated blade of a military-style knife from his abdomen. The child was stabbed 26 times, police said.

Czuba was treated and released from a hospital and taken to Will County jail for questioning, according to police, who said he did not make any statements related to the stabbings, but that other interviews and evidence allowed for charges to be brought against him.

Czuba remained in custody at the Will County jail Sunday. He is due in court Monday afternoon, according to jail records.