Landlord charged with hate crimes after Muslim boy killed in Illinois

American landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with murder and hate crimes after he allegedly stabbed a six-year-old boy to death because he was a Muslim. 

Czuba is accused of killing Wadea Al-Fayoume and seriously wounding his mother in Plainfield, Illinois.

The pair were allegedly targeted by their landlord because of their religion and the ongoing crisis in Gaza. 

US President Joe Biden said he was “sickened” by the attack. 

“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,” he said.

The landlord attacked the woman, 32, with a military-style knife that had a seven-inch blade. She ran to the bathroom to call the police. She suffered more than a dozen stab wounds but is expected to survive. 

Her son, 6, was stabbed more than two dozen times during the attack and later died in hospital.