Muslim boy, 6, dies after being stabbed 26 times in suspected hate crime in Illinois
A six-year-old boy has been stabbed to death and his mother left in a critical condition after a suspected hate crime in the US state of Illinois.
Wadea al Fayoume, a Palestinian-American, died in hospital after being stabbed 26 times with a “military-style knife” on Saturday, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
His 32-year-old mother is recovering in hospital after suffering “over a dozen stab wounds”.
US President Joe Biden called it an “act of hate” as the FBI said it was on high alert for violence driven by an increased risk of antisemitism or Islamophobia.
Police said they were able to determine that both victims were “targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and Israelis“.
Joseph M Czuba was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of hate crime. Pic: Will Count Sheriff’s Office
Joseph M Czuba, 71, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Wadea and his mother were found in a bedroom inside a property in the Plainfield Township, that Czuba had been renting to them.
Wadea’s mother had called police to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife, police said. She said on the phone that she had run into a bathroom and continued to fight him off.
Czuba was arrested after being treated in hospital for injuries to his forehead.
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The home where six-year-old Wadea al Fayoume was killed and his mother was critically injured
President Joe Biden said in a statement: “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.”
Ahmed Rehab, the president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Wadea loved football and basketball and had just celebrated his sixth birthday, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.
“He paid the price for the atmosphere of hate and authorisation and dehumanisation that, frankly, I think we are seeing here in the United States,” Mr Rehab said at a news conference on Sunday.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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