Mourners in heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb remember Muslim boy killed as kind, energetic
Crowds of mourners in a heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb paid respects to a 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in an alleged hate crime
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Crowds of mourners in a heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb paid respects Monday to a 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in an alleged hate crime, hours after authorities revealed new details about the evidence used to charge the family's landlord with stabbing the child and his mother.
Wadea Al-Fayoume, who had recently had a birthday, died Saturday after being stabbed dozens of times in a brutal attack that drew condemnation from local elected officials to the White House. Authorities said the family's landlord, Joseph Czuba, was upset over the Israel-Hamas war and attacked them after the boy's mother proposed they “pray for peace.”
In Bridgeview, which is home to a large and established Palestinian community, family and friends remembered Wadea as an energetic boy who loved playing games. His body was carried in a small white casket — which was at times draped with a Palestinian flag — through packed crowds.
Mosque Foundation Imam Jamal Said reflected on the boy’s death during the janazah, or funeral service, but also the wider loss of life in the war between Israel and Hamas.
