Who is Hanaan Shahin? Mother of Palestinian-American boy killed by landlord too wounded and traumatized to speak
PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS: Hanaan Shahin, mother of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume who was stabbed to death by his family landlord, is so severely traumatized that she hasn't spoken about the horrific experience, said the child's great-uncle.
Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times on Saturday, October 14, afternoon at his residence, while 32-year-old Shahin was stabbed more than a dozen times, as per Daily Mail.
The Illinois landlord, Joseph Czuba, is accused of stabbing the boy to death with a "military-style knife." The child's body had the 12-inch kitchen knife stuck in it until the autopsy, indicating how severe the attack was.
Police in Illinois charged 71-year-old Czuba with committing a hate crime related to the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
A landlord, reportedly angry at what he read in the news, knocked on the door of his Muslim Palestinian tenants. When Hanaan Shahin answered, he tried to choke her, attack her with a knife, and yelled: "you Muslims must die!" When she went to call 911, he killed her 6 yr old son. https://t.co/CdhudAD1Zp pic.twitter.com/rXp0ov30gT
— Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) October 15, 2023
How is Hanaan Shahin doing at the moment?
The Will County Sheriff's Office in a news release stated that Czuba had stabbed Shahin on Saturday morning after knocking on his tenant's door and screaming, "You Muslims must die!"
After attempting to repel the assailant, Shahin allegedly fled to the restroom and dialed 911. Upon returning, she discovered her kid had sustained 26 stab wounds.
The boy later passed away from his wounds after the victims were taken to a hospital shortly. It was anticipated that Shahin would heal from her injuries.
The boy's great-uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, told CNN that Hanaan Shahin, the boy's mother, has not yet been contacted by the family.
He said, "We have no idea how she is right now."
The great-uncle added, "They are not letting us talk to her or see her or visit her. Up until this point. We are trying. They have told us we have to wait."
Why did Hanaan Shahin not speak to her relatives?
The executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Ahmed Rehab, said that Shahin was seriously hurt and shocked when asked why she hadn't spoken to her family yet.
Rehab told CNN, "This was a brutal and heinous attack. She was stabbed 12 times. The little boy was stabbed 26 times. A 12-inch knife was still in his abdomen when he was taken for an autopsy."
Rehab further claimed that Shahin had been "stabbed in the face, the cheek, she can't talk."
"She is in severe distress emotionally, of course, with the trauma she experienced," Rehab said. "And so it is perhaps the hospital wanting her to be protected from the interests of the public."
Rehab stated that Shahin had come to the United States 12 years ago from a West Bank town when her spouse relocated.
Their son Wadea Al-Fayoume was believed to have been born in the US and celebrated his 6th birthday days before being killed by Czuba.
Czuba was accused of two hate crime offenses, aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder.