Gone quiet · last update May 2, 2025 / Illinois

The killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy near Chicago in a hate crime

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

In October 2023, amid the Israel-Hamas war, a 71-year-old landlord near Chicago stabbed his Palestinian American tenant, Hanan Shaheen, and killed her 6-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi, in what authorities called an anti-Muslim hate crime.[1][2][3] Joseph Czuba was convicted of murder and hate crimes in February 2025.[3]

Read the timeline

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Joseph Czuba was convicted of murder and hate crimes in February 2025.[3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · monthly average of weekly shares (UTC)

Oct 2023: average weekly share 8% (left 2%, center 4%, right 1%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2023: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksDec 2023: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJan 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksFeb 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMar 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksApr 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksMay 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJun 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJul 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksAug 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksSep 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksOct 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksDec 2024: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJan 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksFeb 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMar 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksApr 2025: average weekly share 1% (left under 1%, center under 1%, right under 1%), from 4 of 4 weeksMay 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJun 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJul 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksAug 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksSep 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksOct 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksDec 2025: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJan 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksFeb 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMar 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksApr 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksMay 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksJun 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksJul 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksAug 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 5 of 5 weeksSep 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksOct 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 4 of 4 weeksNov 2026: average weekly share 0% (left 0%, center 0%, right 0%), from 2 of 2 weeks, so far

LeftCenterRight

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. Over more than two years each bar is a month: the average of that month's weekly shares, so the shape stays readable. The weekly table below keeps every week. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 6 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (4 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Apr 28, 20254329 of 2044%
Oct 23, 20230707 of 2383%
Oct 16, 202319331062 of 24825%
Oct 9, 20234217 of 2373%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. May 1, 2025 · first reported · Headline from NBC Chicago

    Suburban landlord sentenced in hate crime, murder of 6-year-old Palestinian American

Background

Authorities said the landlord, upset over the Israel-Hamas war, attacked Shaheen with a knife when she proposed that they "pray for peace."[2] He was charged with murder and hate crimes,[4][5] and President Joe Biden condemned the killing as a "horrific act of hate."[6] The boy was buried after a funeral attended by interfaith leaders,[7] and his mother, who was stabbed multiple times, left the hospital a week later.[8] In February 2025 a jury convicted Czuba, then 73.[3]

Supporting stories (8)
  1. Man killed Muslim boy and wounded woman in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war, police say
  2. 6-year-old boy is buried, mother treated after attack that police call an anti-Muslim hate crime
  3. Illinois landlord sentenced in fatal stabbing of 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy
  4. Plainfield landlord charged with hate crime in stabbing that killed 6-year-old Muslim boy, injured mom
  5. Police: Illinois man killed Muslim boy, injured mother in stabbing driven by religious hate
  6. Biden Condemns ‘Horrific Act Of Hate’ After 6-Year-Old Palestinian-American Is Stabbed To Death In Illinois
  7. Mourners in Palestinian Chicago suburb remember Muslim boy who was killed as kind, energetic
  8. Mother of 6-year-old killed in alleged anti-Muslim attack near Chicago released from hospital after being stabbed over a dozen times

The full record

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →