6 year-old boy killed, mother severely injured in anti-Muslim knife attack, US police say

A 71 year-old man has been charged with murder and hate crimes after allegedly stabbing two people because they were Muslim.

Joseph Czuba, is accused of killing a six-year-old boy and injuring a woman, 32, in Plainfield, Illinois, according to the BBC.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office said the victims were targeted because of the current clashes between Hamas and Israel.

Reacting to the incident, President Joe Biden said he was “sickened” by the attack on the mother and her son, who were Palestinian-Americans.

“This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

“As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred.” Joe Biden added.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Will County Sheriff’s Office stated that on Saturday morning, it got an emergency phone call from a woman who said she was being attacked by her landlord in Plainfield, Illinois.

According to the woman, she “ran into the bathroom and continued to fight off her attacker.”

Officers arrived on the scene to find the woman and the boy with “multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso, and upper extremities.”

Mr Czuba was found “sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence,” the statement said.

The attacker was taken to hospital for treatment before being questioned by detectives.

“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Sheriff’s office added.