Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday condemned the killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian American stabbed in Illinois on Saturday, allegedly because his family is Muslim.
Ms. Harris said she is praying for Wadea’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, who was stabbed 12 times in the attack.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office said the family’s 71-year-old landlord, Joseph Czuba, was arrested and charged with murder and two counts of hate crimes after detectives determined the victims were targeted “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”
“Hate has no place in America. We unequivocally condemn hate and Islamophobia and stand with the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim American communities,” Ms. Harris said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will continue working to protect our communities against hate and senseless violence.”
The statement followed a similar one Sunday by President Biden, who said he was “shocked and sickened” by the attack on a family that sought refuge in America.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department opened a federal hate crime investigation into the attack.
The Chicago-area stabbing has been described as a tragedy tied to the violence overseas. Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, leading to the deaths of over 1,000 Israelis and scores of hostages.
Israel responded forcefully in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, forcing the Biden administration to balance unwavering support for Israel, a major Middle East ally, with concerns about civilian deaths in Gaza.
The conflict is threatening to engulf the entire region and could explode into a humanitarian crisis as women and children living in Gaza could lose access to food, water and medicine.
Mr. Biden said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview Sunday that Israel needs to eliminate the terrorist organization Hamas. He also expressed confidence that Israel would minimize innocent casualties in its bombardment of Gaza.
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this story.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.