United States President Joe Biden condemned the incident where a six-year-old boy was killed and his mother was injured after they were stabbed in Illinois because they were Muslims and said that he was "shocked and sickened" to learn of the incident. He further said that this horrific act of hate has no place in America.
"Jill and I were shocked and sickened to learn of the brutal murder of a six-year-old child and the attempted murder of the child’s mother in their home yesterday in Illinois. The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek—a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace," Biden said in a statement.
"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," the statement further read. Joseph Czuba, 71, who has been accused of the incident, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes, and aggravated battery, as per a BBC report.
In the statement, Biden urged people of US to come together and reject all forms of bigotry and hatred. "As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone," the statement read.
"We join everyone here at the White House in sending our condolences and prayers to the family, including for the mother’s recovery, and to the broader Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities, it further stated. The law enforcement responded to an emergency call by the lady who alleged that her landlord had attacked her with a knife, said the Will County Sheriff’s office in a social media post.
The Sheriff’s office said that the detectives were able to determine that the victims were targeted because of them being Muslim and the Israel-Gaza War. “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,” it said.
The landlord attempted to choke the woman as she opened the door, as per the text messages sent by the woman to her husband which were shared with CAIR International, largest Muslim civil rights organisation in the US, according to a Guardian report. He stabbed the mother, yelling: "You Muslims must die", the report added.
She then ran to the bathroom where she called 911 but emerged to find that the man had stabbed her six-year-old son. “It all happened in seconds,” the woman texted, according to CAIR. Czuba was sitting upright on the ground near the home’s driveway when the officers reached the spot. He used a 12-inch (31cm) serrated military style knife that has a seven-inch blade to attack the mother and son, the Sheriff's office said.