Content Warning: This story contains mentions of death, violence and Islamophobia.
Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, was killed in Chicago suburb Plainfield Township Saturday morning in a hate crime. His mother Hanaan Shahin sustained serious injuries but is expected to survive.
According to Wadea’s family, he had just celebrated his sixth birthday and loved swimming, soccer and Legos. Mourners gathered at a prayer service held at a Bridgeview mosque Monday afternoon.
The family’s landlord, Joseph Czuba, 71, attacked the mother and son because they were Muslim, according to local and federal authorities.
The attack comes amid an escalating war between Israel and Hamas. After the militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel Saturday, Israel declared war on Hamas and has since launched multiple strikes on Gaza. More than 4,000 Palestinians and Israelis have been killed in the ongoing violence.
The United Nations released an “urgent call” Saturday for Israeli authorities to protect all civilians sheltering in Gaza, calling Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza and its order for all residents to evacuate Gaza before as “unprecedented.”
Czuba appeared in Will County court Monday and was read the eight felony counts he faces ― including hate crimes charges, first-degree murder and aggravated battery. His next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
In an Oct. 11 press release sent on behalf of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Executive Director Ahmed Rehab reported a “disturbing spike in hate calls/emails, and community concern outreach since the outbreak of violence in the Middle East.”
In the days following Saturday’s attack, politicians and activist groups in the Chicago region and nationwide have issued statements condemning the killing and its Islamophobic motivations. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement Sunday saying the Justice Department opened a federal hate crimes investigation into the events leading to the attack.
“This incident cannot help but further raise the fears of Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities in our country with regard to hate-fueled violence,” the statement said. “No one in the United States of America should have to live in fear of violence because of how they worship or where they or their family come from.”
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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