The backstory: Al-Fayoume was killed, and his mother was wounded when Joseph Czuba, their landlord, attacked them on Oct. 14, 2023.
Prosecutors said Czuba stabbed Wadea more than two dozen times and critically injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen, who survived. The boy’s mother was renting a space in the home from Czuba. He told police he attacked them because of their Palestinian heritage.
The case gained national attention as the attack occurred just days after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Czuba was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and committing a hate crime for fatally stabbing Wadea and the critical wounding of his mother.
“We wanted to keep it simple and … this picture of Wadea Al-Fayoume is very popular,” said Syed Rahman, the artist who designed the statue. “So we wanted people to be able to connect with their actual picture, and that’s why we colored the heart red, so it kind of sticks out. You know, he was a boy full of love, and that is what we wanted to, we wanted the monument to show.”
What they’re saying:
Among those attending today’s dedication, Wadea’s elementary school teacher Trisha Mathias.
“He was like one of those students that like you’ll never forget as a teacher,” she said. “He just had this smile and glimmer about him that was infectious. I think that it’s great that the community is doing something for him just in our building alone, like I try to keep his memory alive. He was that student that everybody remembers.”
Organizers said they chose the park to put the statue up because it’s where Wadea used to play.
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