U.S. President Joe Biden commemorated the one year anniversary of what he called a "heinous" fatal assault on a Palestinian American mother and son that left the 6-year-old dead.
Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden "continue to think" about Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, and his mother, Hanaan Shahin, saying they are "grateful for Hanan's recovery and her powerful voice for peace." He further hailed Wadea as "a bright and cheerful American Muslim boy of Palestinian descent."
"We know the hole in their heart that remains without their beloved son. Days like this are hard because it brings it all back. We keep them in our hearts," the president, who lost his son to brain cancer in 2015, said in a statement.
"On this day, let us all take steps that honor Wadee's memory and reaffirm together that there is no place for hate in America, including hatred of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. We can all reject hatred and expose misinformation and disinformation that is cynically aimed at turning us against one another," he added.
He was using an alternative spelling to refer to the murdered child.
Al-Fayoume was fatally stabbed 26 times at his Plainfield, Illinois, apartment with his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14, 2023. Shahin was critically injured after being stabbed more than a dozen times.
Authorities arrested the family's landlord, Joseph Czuba, and charged him with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and a pair of hate crimes charges. Czuba has pleaded not guilty.
The trial was originally scheduled to take place in March 2025, but whether the case will proceed as planned remains uncertain. Czuba has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and Wadea's father, Oday Al-Fayoume, said he is refusing treatment while in jail and could die at "any time."
"If that happens before the court date, we're gonna close the case," he said during an interview with Anadolu.
