US: 6-yr-old Muslim boy stabbed 26 times by 71-yr-old Illinois man in hate crime, dies

A 71-year-old man from Illinois in the United States accused of stabbing a 6-year-old boy to death, and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman, was charged with a hate crime on Sunday.

Police allege he singled out the victims because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In recent days, police in several American cities and federal authorities have been on high alert for crimes motivated by antisemitic or Islamophobic sentiments. FBI officials, along with Jewish and Muslim groups, have reported a surge in hateful and threatening rhetoric.

In the Chicago-area case, officers found the woman and boy on Saturday at a home in Plainfield Township, some 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Chicago, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted on social media.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital after being stubbed 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, the Will County Sheriff's Office said.

The woman had multiple stab wounds but was expected to survive.