Last words of knifed US Muslim boy were 'Mom, I'm fine'

The last words of a six-year-old Muslim boy stabbed to death in a suspected hate crime over the weekend were "Mom, I'm fine", his uncle said as hundreds gathered at the child's funeral, reports BBC.

On Monday, the Mosque Foundation in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview was overflowing, with some paying their respects on the pavement outside.

Police say Wadea al-Fayoume was attacked because he was Muslim. His funeral was held as the family's landlord appeared in court charged with the boy's murder. The 71-year-old suspect was allegedly upset about the Israel-Hamas war.

Mourners came from all over the area, some from much farther away, to express their grief and anger over the killing.

Wadea's mother, 32-year-old Hanaan Shahin, was seriously injured in the attack and was unable to attend her son's funeral as she is recovering in hospital.

"I'm shocked but I'm not surprised," said Sadia Nawab, a mother-of-three who lives near the mosque. "We're worried about our children, and more worried about the powerless kids around the world that are in Palestine now, that are in Gaza."

Ms Nawab said local schools had taken extra precautions because of events in Israel and Gaza. And in a theme that many mourners repeated, she accused government leaders and media organisations of being biased against Palestinians and encouraging an atmosphere of hate.

An uncle and family spokesman, Yousef Hannon, said that before the killing "there was no signs of anything wrong" between the alleged perpetrator, Joseph Czuba, and the victims.