An American man, 71, has been charged with murder and a hate crime after fatally stabbing a six-year-old child and badly injuring his mother, 32. Police claim the man targeted the victims because of their religion and in retaliation for the conflict between Israel and Hamas.Read full article
According to a statement released on Sunday by the Will County Sheriff's Office in suburban Chicago, "Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to their religion of Islam and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.
On Saturday morning, police discovered both victims at a residence about 65 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of Chicago.
According to an autopsy performed on the youngster on Sunday, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, he had been stabbed 26 times with a huge military-style knife.
The mother's body bore more than a dozen stab wounds. On Sunday, she remained in the hospital, but it was thought she would make it.
According to police, the suspect, whose identity has not yet been made public, was discovered on Saturday "sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence" with a cut on his forehead.
On Sunday, he was being held in custody while awaiting his court date. Police accused him of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of hate crimes, attempted first-degree murder, and first-degree murder.
Ahmed Rehab, the Chicago chapter's executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), released a statement on their website saying, "Our hearts are heavy, and our prayers are with the darling boy and his mother."
Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American kid, and his mother Hanaan Shahin were the victims, according to the organisation.
"While we await the official investigation by local authorities, our current understanding is that a tragic incident has occurred within a family. A six-year-old child, who recently celebrated his birthday, has been fatally stabbed in his own home.
The child's mother is in the hospital in serious condition, having sustained over a dozen stab wounds," stated CAIR.
Rehab confirmed that CAIR has received an account from the surviving mother regarding the sequence of events leading up to the incident.
We have complete faith in the authorities to swiftly investigate this horrifying incident as a potential hate crime," he expressed in the statement.
According to the organization, the family had resided on the ground floor of the house for two years, and the suspect is reported to be their landlord.
Text messages from the mother to the boy's father suggest that the suspect had shouted, "You Muslims must die!" just before the stabbing, as per CAIR-Chicago.
This crime is described as "our worst nightmare" by the organization and is seen as part of a troubling increase in hate-related calls and emails recently.