CHICAGO (AP) — A 6-year-old boy was being buried Monday and his mother was hospitalized with stab wounds after their 71-year-old landlord attacked them because of their Muslim faith and high emotions over the Israel-Hamas war globally and nationwide, police said.Jewish and Muslim groups have reported an increase of hateful rhetoric in the wake of the war, and Chicago-area landlord Joseph Czuba had made disparaging remarks about Muslims to the Palestinian American family, according to the local Council on American-Islamic Relations.
On Saturday, the 32-year-old mother called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife. She ran into a bathroom and kept fighting him off, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said.
“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 statement said.
The man suspected in the attack was found “sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence” with a cut on his forehead, authorities said.
Czuba, of Plainfield, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was scheduled to appear Monday in a court in Joliet.
Attempts to reach Czuba or a family member were unsuccessful Sunday, and the sheriff’s office and county public defender’s office did not immediately return messag …
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