GhLinks Media
Wadea Al-Fayoume’s parents are Oday Al-Fayoume and Hanaan Shahin.
They are Palestinian Americans who live in Plainfield, Illinois.
Wadea was a 6-year-old boy who was stabbed to death by his landlord, Joseph Czuba, on October 14, 2023.
Joseph Czuba stabbed Wadea Al-Fayoume and his mother in unincorporated Plainfield Saturday morning because they are Muslim.
The boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, survived the attack and told police later how Czuba appeared at their door spouting hateful, anti-Muslim slurs.
He tried to choke Shaheen, who fled inside and called 911, then produced a knife on the mother and son.
Wadea Al-Fayoume father reacts to the news of his son’s murder
Oday and Hanaan are devastated by the loss of their son.
Wadea’s father, Oday Al-Fayoume, has spoken out, explaining that his son and ex-wife knew the landlord and had even shared a ‘good relationship’ with him before the horrific attack.
‘It is hard to picture this man holding a knife about to stab my son,’ he said.
‘I keep thinking that my son was probably running towards him before getting stabbed, trying to give him a hug.’
Paying tribute to his young son, Oday told The Daily Beast that Wadea was ‘basically a small angel in the form of a person’.
What happened
Around 11:38 a.m. on October 14, 2023, 71-year-old Czuba knocked on the door of the home of six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and 32-year-old Hanaan Shahin, to which Shahin answered.
He attacked, attempted to choke, and stabbed Shahin, yelling at her that, “You Muslims must die.” Shahin ran to the bathroom and called 9-1-1.
When she came out, she found Al-Fayoume with multiple stab wounds.
Al-Fayoume and Shahin were transported to the hospital, where Al-Fayoume was pronounced dead and Shahih was treated in critical condition.
Czuba was arrested outside the home once police arrived at the scene.
