Landlord attacks tenant and kills her son, 6, ‘over Israel-Hamas conflict’
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after he attacked his tenants over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with first degree murder and attempted murder after the attack in Plainfield Township, Illinois, on Saturday morning.
The Will County Sherriff’s Office says the two victims were targeted ‘due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis’.
Officers arrived at the home to find the suspect sat on the ground outside. Czuba was taken to a local hospital for treatment as he had a cut on his forehead, before his arrest.
They then found two victims in a bedroom, both of whom were taken to hospital for treatment.
A 32-year-old woman received more than a dozen stab wounds, but is recovering from her injuries and is expected to survive.
However a six-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries in hospital, and a post-mortem revealed he had been stabbed 26 times – and the knife was recovered from his abdomen.
The boy has been named by the Chicago branch of a Muslim civil rights charity as Wadea Al-Fayoume.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said: ‘Joseph Czuba did not make any statements to detectives regarding his involvement in this heinous attack.
‘Despite the suspect not providing a statement to detectives, personnel were able to gather enough information through interviews and evidence to formally charge Joseph Czuba with numerous criminal offenses.
‘Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.
‘The Will County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in working with detectives regarding Joseph Czuba being formally charged in this senseless and cowardly act of violence.
‘Joseph Czuba was transported to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and is awaiting his initial court appearance.’
Czuba was also charged with two counts of hate crime, and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The spokesman also confirmed the attack was between a landlord and a renter.
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