Latest news with #Wadea
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI raids Chicago home of Capital Jewish Museum shooting suspect, Elias Rodriguez. What to know
FBI agents raided the apartment of a Chicago resident yesterday in connection with the May 21 shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C. The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, was taken into custody, a Hyundai Accent registered to Rodriguez was towed away and officers were seen leaving the residence with boxes and luggage in-hand. Here's what we know. Rodriguez, 31 years old, reportedly lived on the second floor of a building in the 4700 block of North Troy Street in Chicago's Albany Park. A sign reading "Justice for Wadea" was visible in the window of the apartment believed to belong to Rodriguez, according to WGN-9 News. The sign references the deadly stabbing of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea al-Fayoumi in Plainfield in October 2023. Rodriguez's alleged social media accounts are said to contain posts criticizing the war in Gaza. USA TODAY reported that he was also once affiliated with the far-left Chicago group the Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to one of the group's X posts. Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and also faces several firearms charges and counts of killing foreign officials. The attack is being investigated as a possible hate and terrorism crime. Jeanine Pirro, the interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., said authorities may pursue the death penalty if Rodriguez is convicted. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 18 in Washington, D.C. Others are reading: One person seriously injured in Peoria shooting near former middle school Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on the evening of May 21. The couple were Israeli Embassy staff members believed to be attending an event at the museum. An FBI affidavit says Rodriguez flew from Chicago to Washington, D.C., the day before the attack, bringing a gun in his checked luggage, and bought a ticket to the museum three hours before the night's event began. Video footage shows Rodriguez shooting at the victims several times before and after they fell to the ground. He reportedly yelled, "Free, free Palestine" as he was detained by security. CONTRIBUTING: Melina Khan, John Bacon, Thao Nguyen and Jorge L. Ortiz This article originally appeared on Journal Star: FBI raids Albany Park home belonging to suspected Israeli Embassy staff shooter
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police raid DC shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez's Chicago apartment
Authorities raided the Chicago apartment of a 30-year-old left-wing activist accused of killing two Israeli embassy workers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., Thursday, a day after the surprise attack, as the FBI looks to verify the authenticity of an apparent antisemitic "manifesto" circulating online. Agents and officers in tactical gear, carrying rifles and at least one ballistic shield, were seen swarming the brick building around 9 a.m. Elias Rodriguez is accused of lurking outside an event at the museum and then opening fire on two people as they were leaving. Two Israeli Embassy Workers Shot, Killed During Event At Capital Jewish Museum In Washington, Dc Images from FOX 32 Chicago show investigators on scene for much of Thursday morning, coming and going from an apartment complex in the Albany Park neighborhood. One of them also showed a sign hanging in a window reading, "Justice for Wadea." Read On The Fox News App A neighbor, John Wayne Fry, told reporters outside Thursday that the window belonged to Rodriguez. "That gave me the impression that they were very, very sensitive people, especially about the issue of Palestine," he said. Witness Recounts Moment Jewish Museum Shooter Allegedly Confessed 'I Did This For Gaza' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the suspect a "brutal terrorist" Thursday and condemned liberal governments in Europe that he accused of supporting Hamas over Israel. After the Metropolitan Police Department took Rodriguez into custody, he shouted the anti-Israel protest slogan, "Free, free Palestine!" Wadea al-Fayoume was a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy killed in his family's Illinois home in a hate crime attack days after Hamas launched a terror attack against Israel that authorities called the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history. Who Is The Suspect In The Killing Of 2 Israeli Embassy Staffers? It left more than 1,200 civilians dead, including at least 40 Americans, according to the Defense Department. Seven days after the Hamas attack, Wadea's landlord Joseph Czuba, 73, stabbed him 26 times with a knife and attacked his mother, too. A jury found him guilty in February of murder, attempted murder, hate crimes and other charges. A possible manifesto condemning Israel's response to the Hamas attack has been circulating online, attributed to Rodriguez without confirmation. Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, wrote on X that the bureau was aware of the document and investigating its authenticity. "The subject is in custody and interviewed last night at approximately 1 a.m.," he added. "As this is a pending investigation, we will share more with you when we are able." Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said Rodriguez is the only suspect. In 2017, he was photographed by Liberation – a self-described socialist news site – outside then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house during a dual protest against Amazon and the death of a Black man who had been killed by a police officer. The article appears to have been taken down, but an archived version shows he accused Amazon of "whitening Seattle" and claimed that the corporation forced people into "deeper and deeper poverty." The outlet described him as a member of the "Party for Socialism and Liberation" – at least at the time. The group, which has publicly criticized Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack, disavowed Rodriguez Tuesday and condemned the shooting. "He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. The victims of Wednesday night's shooting have been identified as Sarah Milgrim, a U.S. citizen who worked at the embassy, and Yaron Lischinsky, a Christian Israeli. Lischinsky's father, Daniel Lischinsky, told Fox News' Trey Yingst that the two were dating, and his son had planned to propose to Milgrim soon. "They were in love, one for the other," he said. "The embassy told us they were like a star couple at the embassy. I never expected something like this." They were killed walking out of an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee – that focused on finding humanitarian solutions for Palestinians in Gaza. Fox News' Alexandra Koch and Stephen Sorace contributed to this article source: Police raid DC shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez's Chicago apartment
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Piping plovers return to Waukegan beach to start family
Good afternoon, Chicago. A suspect in the fatal shootings of two members of the Israeli Embassy near the Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., has been identified as a Chicago man who apparently has railed on social media against the ongoing bombing of Gaza by Israel. Elias Rodriguez, 31, of the 4700 block of North Troy Street, was being held for questioning, authorities said today. He was being interviewed by D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI, according to officials. Police today blocked the street outside his apartment building in the Albany Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side. By 8:15 a.m., a stream of heavily armed men, the letters FBI inscribed on their backs, were seen leaving the brick, U-shaped apartment building, where one apartment window had a sign in the window reading 'Justice for Wadea,' a reference to the killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume by his family's landlord in the suburbs in 2023. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Pepper and Blaze — the captive-reared, federally endangered piping plover chicks released on a Lake County beach in 2023 — are back in Waukegan for the second year as breeding adults and the pair is already incubating a full clutch of four eggs. Read more here. More top news stories: Arrests happening inside Chicago's immigration court, attorneys say: 'People are going to be afraid' Homer Glen man charged with threatening state Rep. Nicole La Ha Naperville police say there will be 'zero tolerance' for lawbreaking after large teen groups gather downtown The choppy trading this week and sharp decline for stocks yesterday follows several weeks of mostly gains that have brought the S&P 500 back within 5% of its all-time high. More top business stories: Stop making cents: US Mint moves forward with plans to kill the penny What to know about President Trump's 'no tax on tips' proposal that's included in the GOP budget bill Former Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant on Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper's staff, has been named the 42nd head coach in Hawks history. Read more here. More top sports stories: Chicago baseball report: Cubs lead the majors in 1st-pitch action, while the White Sox are on par with last year Chicago Bears will host Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills for joint practices before preseason games Opening the two-set concert with a full performance of 'Seven Psalms,' his 2023 album comprised of a continuous suite of seven songs, Paul Simon presented a fearless meditation on mystery, mortality and the great beyond. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: TimeLine Theatre Company announces the first show in its new Uptown space Chicago beaches set to open for summer season on Friday U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump's goal to shut down the department. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Multiple people on private plane that crashed into San Diego neighborhood are dead, authorities say What to know about the tension between Iran and the US before their fifth round of nuclear talks
New Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
73-year-old gets 53 years for killing 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy
WASHINGTON: An Illinois man was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Friday for the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an attack deemed an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February of fatally stabbing Wadea Al-Fayoumi and attacking the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen. Czuba was the family's landlord and the attack took place a week after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm (six-inch) blade was removed from the child's abdomen during the autopsy. Shaheen and Czuba's now ex-wife, Mary, testified that he targeted the Muslim family after becoming agitated about the conflict in Gaza, media reported. Prosecutors said Shaheen called police in 2023 after Czuba forced his way into her bedroom and stabbed her repeatedly. She was able to lock herself in a bathroom to call for help, during which time Czuba attacked her child. "The cruelty of this morally reprehensible killer and the impact of his violent conduct on this innocent child and mother is truly unfathomable," prosecutor James Glasgow said in a statement. Jurors deliberated for just over an hour before finding Czuba guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of a hate crime. Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadea's murder, 20 years for the attack on his mother and three years for the hate crimes, to be served consecutively, the Chicago Sun Times reported. During sentencing, the boy's great-uncle Mahmoud Yousef asked Czuba why he did it but received no response, the newspaper said. "We want to know what made him do this," Yousef told the judge. According to the Will County Sheriff's Office, the victims were targeted "due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis." Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a "horrific act of hate" that "has no place in America."--AFP
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Murderer of Palestinian-American boy sentenced to 53 years
WASHINGTON: An Illinois man was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Friday for the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an attack deemed an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February of fatally stabbing Wadea Al-Fayoumi and attacking the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen. Czuba was the family's landlord and the attack took place a week after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm (six-inch) blade was removed from the child's abdomen during the autopsy. Shaheen and Czuba's now ex-wife, Mary, testified that he targeted the Muslim family after becoming agitated about the conflict in Gaza, media reported. Prosecutors said Shaheen called police in 2023 after Czuba forced his way into her bedroom and stabbed her repeatedly. She was able to lock herself in a bathroom to call for help, during which time Czuba attacked her child. 'The cruelty of this morally reprehensible killer and the impact of his violent conduct on this innocent child and mother is truly unfathomable,' prosecutor James Glasgow said in a statement. Jurors deliberated for just over an hour before finding Czuba guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of a hate crime. Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadea's murder, 20 years for the attack on his mother and three years for the hate crimes, to be served consecutively, the Chicago Sun Times reported. During sentencing, the boy's great-uncle Mahmoud Yousef asked Czuba why he did it but received no response, the newspaper said. 'We want to know what made him do this,' Yousef told the judge. According to the Will County Sheriff's Office, the victims were targeted 'due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.' Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a 'horrific act of hate' that 'has no place in America.'
