An Illinois jury has found a man guilty of murder and hate crime charges for an October 2023 stabbing that killed a six-year-old Palestinian American boy and severely wounded his mother, according to court documents, Reuters reports.
Joseph Czuba, 73, faces life in prison when he is sentenced in May for a murder that prosecutors said was sparked by anti-Muslim hatred. It took place just days after Hamas carried out an October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.
The murder of the boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, and the attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen, was one of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents in the US since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict.