Illinois man charged with hate crime in fatal stabbing of Muslim boy

US president Joe Biden said the boy's family were Palestinian Muslims who "came to America seeking what we all seek - a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace"

Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6. 

An Illinois man was charged with hate crimes for stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother in an attack that targeted them for their religion and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, officials and Muslim rights activists said on Sunday.

The boy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.