Muslim And Arab Communities Worried Hate Crimes Are Only Going To Get Worse

Thousands of people showed up at Monday’s funeral for Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian American boy stabbed to death by a neighbor in an apparent anti-Muslim hate crime.

Inside, the mosque was packed, and hundreds more mourners spilled outside of the prayer room and onto the streets. Men, women, children and elected officials were among those who attended.

Nearby, students at Universal School, an Islamic private school, went into soft lockdown. The school shares a parking lot with the Mosque Foundation, the site of Wadea’s funeral. School administrators had been ramping up security measures since the young boy’s murder and fielding concerns from dozens of parents worried about their own children’s safety, many of whom were the same age and ethnicity as Wadea. Many were worried that another hate crime could occur.