Illinois man killed Muslim boy, 6, in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war, police say

CHICAGO (AP) — Police charged a 71-year-old suburban Chicago man Sunday with a hate crime for fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman, alleging he singled out both victims because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted to social media.

Officers found both victims late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

The boy, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, was stabbed 26 times with a large military-style knife, according to an autopsy Sunday, the sheriff's office said. The woman had more than a dozen stab wounds on her body. She remained hospitalized Sunday, but was expected to survive.