31° and Overcast
Image
Plainfield resident Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of killing a six-year-old boy and injuring his mother, 32, in Plainfield, Illinois in a brutal Saturday morning attack fueled by racist vitriol.
According to the Will County Sheriff's Office, the mother and son were targeted because of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.
President Biden issued a statement which said he was "sickened" by the attack on the mother and her son, who were Palestinian-Americans.
"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," Mr Biden said in a statement.
"As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred."
Czuba was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes and aggravated battery.
In Sunday's statement, the Will County Sheriff's Office said that on Saturday morning it received an emergency call from the mother who said she was being attacked by her landlord in their Plainfield apartment.
The woman said she "ran into the bathroom and continued to fight off her attacker".
When officers arrived at the scene they discovered the woman and the boy with "multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso, and upper extremities".
Both victims were taken to hospital, but the boy later died. It was later established that the child was stabbed 26 times.
"The knife used in this attack is a 12-inch (31cm) serrated military style knife that has a seven-inch blade," the Sheriff's office said.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment before being questioned by detectives.
"Detectives
were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were
targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle
Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," the Sheriff's office
added.
The suspect is being held at the Will County jail, pending a bail hearing later this week.
