A 73-year-old landlord from Illinois, a state in the Midwestern United States (US), has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for a brutal hate crime that left a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy dead and his mother seriously injured.
The attack took place on October 14, 2023, shortly after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza Strip.
Czuba, angry about the conflict, forced his way into the family’s home in Plainfield Township, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. He attacked the mother, Hanan Shaheen, strangled her, and stabbed her repeatedly with a military-style knife.
Shaheen managed to escape to a bathroom and call emergency services. Her son, Wadee Alfayoumi, was stabbed 26 times. He was rushed to hospital following the attack, where he was pronounced dead.
Then-US President Joe Biden condemned the killing as a “horrific act of hate” that had “no place in America.”
In February 2025, Czuba was found guilty of attempted murder, and hate crime charges. Evidence presented in court showed he targeted the family because of their Islamic faith, which he associated with the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
During the trial, Shaheen testified that Czuba shouted, “You, as a Muslim, must die.”
On Friday, May 2, Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years for the murder of Wadee, 20 years for the attempted murder of Shaheen, and an additional three years for hate crimes. The sentences will be served consecutively, Reuters reported.
“No sentence can restore what was taken, but today’s outcome delivers a necessary measure of justice,” said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago. “Wadee was an innocent child. He was targeted because of who he was—Muslim, Palestinian, and loved.”
The attack has heightened concerns over rising anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate in the US. Other recent incidents include the attempted drowning of a three-year-old Palestinian-American girl and the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man, both in Texas.
