Khaled Awad Charged in Stabbing of Boston-Area Rabbi

Khaled Awad, the 24-year-old man suspected of stabbing Rabbi Shlomo Noginski multiple times in broad daylight outside a Boston-area Jewish school on Thursday, has been charged in a Massachusetts court Friday.

CBS Boston reports:

Awad of Brighton, was arrested shortly after the attack outside the Shaloh House on Chestnut Hill Avenue. Boston Police said he was armed with a knife and gun. He’s charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer. He will be arraigned in Brighton District Court.

Investigators said Awad came up to Rabbi Noginski Thursday afternoon, pointed a gun at him, and told him to open his van. The rabbi gave him the key, but there was a struggle and Noginski was stabbed eight times in the arm as he tried to run to Brighton Common, the park across the street.

Following the stab attack, Noginski (pictured) was taken to Boston Medical Center for medical treatment and spent the night at the hospital in stable condition. The rabbi has since been released from the facility.

Though local law enforcement has yet to pinpoint Awad’s motive, the Anti-Defamation League of New England is said it believes the incident may have been motivated by antisemitism.

“Facts emerging from the stabbing of a Rabbi in Brighton, MA yesterday include multiple indicators pointing towards antisemitism,” said ADL New England regional director Robert Trestan. “We call on the Boston Police Department Civil Rights Unit to investigate yesterday’s violent attack as a hate crime. Boston’s Jewish community is angry, living in fear and needs answers, accountability, and security.”

In the wake of the attack, the Shaloh House will receive additional security for the rest of the summer.

“A Jewish saying says, ‘A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness. Good has much more power than evil,’“ Dan Rodkin, Executive Director of the Shaloh House, said.