Six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume died after he and his mother were stabbed by their landlord in an unprovoked attack on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The pair was attacked after the erupting conflict in Gaza. Al-Fayoume’s mother is in critical condition and was not able to attend the funeral of her child.
Al-Fayoume and his mother, Hanaan Shahin, lived in a house rented from Joseph Czuba, 71, who had reportedly been friendly to the family.
He had apparently even built Wadea a treehouse and allowed him to swim in the makeshift pool in his backyard. Czuba’s demeanor changed after the ongoing attacks in Gaza, which began a week before he attacked his tenants.
Just after 11a.m. on Oct. 15, Czuba reportedly knocked on the victim’s door. When he was greeted by Shahin, he attacked her with a knife while yelling anti-Muslim slurs. Shahin then barricaded herself in the bathroom to call the police. Czuba began to attack her son, stabbing him 26 times. Both were taken to the hospital, but Al-Fayoume was pronounced dead within an hour.
When the authorities arrived, Czuba was sitting upright outside the house. Czuba has been charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, hate crimes, aggravated battery and other charges.
Al-Fayoume’s funeral was held in a Chicago mosque, just two weeks after his sixth birthday. He was described as a boy who “loved everything.”
The White House released a statement following the attack, “The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek a refuge to live, learn and pray in peace.”
