Wadea al-Fayoume: Last words of knifed US Muslim boy were 'Mom, I'm fine'

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois — The last words of a six-year-old Muslim boy stabbed to death in a suspected hate crime over the weekend were "Mom, I'm fine", his uncle said as hundreds gathered to lay the child to rest.

On Monday, the Mosque Foundation in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview was overflowing, with some paying their respects on the pavement outside.

Police say Wadea al-Fayoume was attacked because he was Muslim. His funeral was held as the family's landlord appeared in court charged with the boy's murder. The 71-year-old suspect was allegedly upset about the Israel-Hamas war.

Mourners came from all over the area, some from much farther away, to express their grief and anger over the killing.

Wadea's mother, 32-year-old Hanaan Shahin, was seriously injured in the attack and was unable to attend her son's funeral as she is recovering in hospital.

"I'm shocked but I'm not surprised," said Sadia Nawab, a mother-of-three who lives near the mosque. "We're worried about our children, and more worried about the powerless kids around the world that are in Palestine now, that are in Gaza."

Ms Nawab said local schools had taken extra precautions because of events in Israel and Gaza. And in a theme that many mourners repeated, she accused government leaders and media organisations of being biased against Palestinians and encouraging an atmosphere of hate.

An uncle and family spokesman, Yousef Hannon, said that before the killing "there was no signs of anything wrong" between the alleged perpetrator, Joseph Czuba, and the victims.

The boy and his mother lived in two rented rooms in a house owned by Czuba, who had even come to Wadea's birthday just a few weeks ago, Hannon said.

"He was friendly to the whole family, but especially to the kid, who he treated like a grandson," Hannon told the BBC. "He brought him gifts, he brought him some toys."

Hannon said Wadea "loved his school, loved his teachers, loved his mother".

"He loved life," he said. "He was acting like a normal six-year-old child, always with a smile."

Another uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, said: "When he [Wadea] was stabbed his last words to his mom were, 'Mom, I'm fine.' You know what, he is fine. He's in a better place."

A prosecutor said in a court filing that the landlord was angry at Wadea's mother "for what was going on in Jerusalem".

"She responded to him, 'Let's pray for peace,'" wrote Assistant State's Attorney Michael Fitzgerald. "Czuba then attacked her with a knife."

Prosecutors say Czuba had been listening to conservative talk radio and had become increasingly paranoid about the presence of the Palestinian-American family in his home. Wadea was born in the US after his mother came to the country 12 years ago.

According to court documents, Czuba's wife told police that her husband feared they would be attacked by people of Middle Eastern descent and, worrying that catastrophe would strike the US power grid, had withdrawn $1,000 (£820) from a bank.

On Saturday morning, police were called to his house in Plainfield, Illinois, about 40 miles (64km) south-west of Chicago.

According to text messages shared by the family with the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), Czuba attempted to choke Ms Shahin and said: "You Muslims must die."

Czuba appeared in court on Monday charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two hate crime counts.

Dressed in red jail clothes and with matted, white hair, he was held without bail and ordered to have no contact with Ms Shahin. He spoke only briefly to confirm that he would need a court-ordered public defender and that he understood the charges against him, before he was shackled and led back to the county jail.

Separately, the US Department of Justice said it was opening a hate crimes investigation.

On Monday, the yard outside Czuba's house, one of a row of homes along a busy road, was dotted with handmade signs and wooden crosses. Piles of children's toys were visible in the backyard, evidence of the play area that family members said the landlord had built for the boy.

After the arrest, neighbors created a makeshift memorial outside the house, with stuffed animals, a Spider-Man pillow, balloons and a sign that read: "Rest in peace precious boy!"

There was a heavy security presence at the funeral, which was held in a neighbourhood known as Little Palestine. In this corner of the suburb of Bridgeview, local shops have signs in both English and Arabic and businesses fly the Palestinian and American flags side by side.

"This child should be in school and instead we are here today for his funeral," said Syed Khan, vice-chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed by Hamas since it launched an unprecedented attack on 7 October. Israel says at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza.

In Gaza, more than 2,700 people have died in Israeli retaliatory strikes. — BBC