A six-year-old boy died and his 32-year-old mother was seriously injured after they were stabbed in what police called a hate crime.
The suspect, a 71-year-old man identified as Joseph Czuba, was arrested, with authorities explaining that he had singled out both victims because they were Muslims, in response to the situation in the Middle East.
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims of this brutal attack were singled out by the suspect due to the fact that they are Muslim and the conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and Israel,” the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook. . The suspect was the landlord of both and did not make a statement to the police.
The crime took place on Saturday in Plainfield, Illinois, about 40 miles from Chicago.
Authorities say the boy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife. The mother was hit more than a dozen times and was expected to survive the attack.
Czuba was charged with murder, attempted murder, a hate crime and assault with a deadly weapon.
Source: DN
