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PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS: Joseph Czuba, the 71-year-old accused of stabbing a mother and child in Illinois in a hate crime, allegedly became enraged thinking his tenants were planning to attack him on Hamas' 'day of jihad.'
His wife, whose name has not been revealed, told investigators that Czuba thought he was in danger and that the mother "was going to call Palestinian friends to come and harm them."
The child who succumbed to his injuries was Wadea Al-Fayoume. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, is expected to make a recovery, according to the Daily Mail. The two were tenants of the accused.
On October 16, Wadea's funeral ceremony took place in an Illinois mosque, in the presence of his father, Oday. Czuba appeared in court on the same day and was denied bail.
Muslim and Palestinian community criticize media
The members of the community gathered before the funeral denouncing the landlord's attack. They also blamed the anti-Palestinian rhetoric fueled by some media outlets.
The world is focused on Palestine as Hamas, the militant group based out of the region, launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. Israel has launched a counter-offensive, and the death toll on both sides together has crossed 3000.
Oussama Jammal, member of the board of directors of the Mosque Foundation, told the Tribune, "This heinous crime did not occur in a vacuum. Public officials and our media are acting irresponsible."
Wadea's uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, said at a press conference ahead of the funeral, "He (was) a 6-year-old kid. As any other 6-year-old kid, he (liked) to play games. I just want to tell the whole world that we live in a country called USA. We're not at war, and we're not bringing war here, too," according to ABC7.
Joseph Czuba was paranoid about 'day of jihad'
The Hamas leaders called for a 'day of jihad' on October 13, about which Czuba became increasingly paranoid, the prosecutors claimed at the hearing.
His wife said that he became even more frightened when no attacks occurred, as he listened to radio coverage of the war in Israel and Gaza.
Czuba withdrew $1,000 in cash from the bank, fearing 'the grid' would go down, and thought that Shahin would call her Palestinian friends to harm him, his wife added.
A statement released by Illinois' Democratic Governor JB Pritzker read, "To take a six-year-old child's life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil. Wadea should be heading to school in the morning. Instead, his parents will wake up without their son. This wasn't just a murder — it was a hate crime."
