Reports: Illinois Man Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Stabbing of Muslim Boy

Wadea Al-Fayoume's father, Oday Al-Fayoume, right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadea at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)
Wadea Al-Fayoume's father, Oday Al-Fayoume, right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadea at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)
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Reports: Illinois Man Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Stabbing of Muslim Boy

Wadea Al-Fayoume's father, Oday Al-Fayoume, right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadea at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)
Wadea Al-Fayoume's father, Oday Al-Fayoume, right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadea at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)

An Illinois man charged with murder and hate crimes for stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother pleaded not guilty before a judge on Monday at an arraignment, according to multiple media accounts.

Police say Joseph Czuba, 71, the family's landlord, targeted them for their religion and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, police said.

His attorney George Lenard entered the plea for him and Czuba, appearing in a red jail uniform, did not speak, an NBC News affiliate in Chicago reported on Monday.

He is charged with the fatal stabbing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, and the wounding of his mother Hanaan Shahin, 32, on Oct. 14, in Plainfield Township, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Chicago.

The boy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Czuba's attorney was not immediately available to Reuters for comment on Monday. Lenard has previously told the media that he will not comment outside the courtroom.

Czuba entered the plea at an arraignment in Joilet, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, on eight counts, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and hate crimes.

"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 Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement earlier.

The Department of Justice has also opened a federal investigation into Al-Fayoume's death.



Pakistani Separatist Group Claims Killing of 7 in Bus Attack

Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
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Pakistani Separatist Group Claims Killing of 7 in Bus Attack

Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN

A Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for the killing of seven bus passengers in an attack earlier this week, saying the victims were affiliated with the military and intelligence services.
The attack occurred late Tuesday night when ethnic Baloch militants armed with guns intercepted several passenger buses on a highway in southwestern Pakistan.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army group said in a statement its fighters attacked the buses and killed the men in Rakhni, a town in Balochistan province.
But local authorities dismissed the claim, saying the slain individuals were civilians with no ties to security forces, The Associated Press reported.
Though BLA mainly operates in Balochistan, it has also targeted Chinese nationals working on multi-billion-dollar projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Last year, BLA killed dozens of people in three separate attacks on vehicles in Balochistan, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan. BLA wants independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Although Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in Balochistan has persisted.
Pakistan is also conducting operations in the former strongholds of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive northwest.