JOLIET, Ill. — An Illinois man was found guilty Friday in the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and the wounding of his mother, an attack that prosecutors said was motivated by anti-Muslim hate, just days after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.

Joseph Czuba, 73, is charged in the fatal stabbing of six-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of Hanan Shaheen on Oct. 14, 2023. Authorities said the family was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel.

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A jury in Illinois began deliberations on Friday in the criminal trial of a landlord charged for the brutal 2023 attack on a Palestinian American family that killed a 6-year-old and wounded his mother. Closing arguments concluded just before noon in the trial of Joseph Czuba, 73, and the case went to the jury.