Prosecutors said the stabbing—one of the earliest & worst #HateCrime incidents in the US since the start of the #Israel #Gaza war—was sparked by anti-#Muslim hatred. US rights advocates have noted rising #Islamophobia, anti-#Arab hate & #antisemitism.

#JosephCzuba, who was the landlord for #HananShaheen & her son #WadeeAlfayoumi, stabbed the boy 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7" serrated blade. Shaheen suffered multiple stab wounds in the attack.
#criminal #law #murder #Palestinian

For the past two years, relatives recalled, #JosephCzuba was kind to the #Palestinian mother & her young son who were renting part of his house in #Plainfield, IL, ~½ hr SW of Chicago.

The 71-year-old landlord built the boy a treehouse, let him use a swimming pool & bought him toys, the child’s relatives said. But over the past few days, acc/to the family, “something changed,” & Czuba had grown hostile to his #Arab tenants.

#HateCrime #Atrocity #Madness #criminal #ViolentCrime