Boston Rabbi Stabbing Suspect Held Without Bail; Hate Crime Probe Opened

A 24-year-old man who allegedly stabbed a rabbi multiple times near a Jewish school in Boston, Massachusetts, was ordered held without bail Friday. A hearing was ordered to determine whether he is a danger to society.

Khaled Awad has been charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer and attempted robbery. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, the Associated Press reported.

The charges are connected to the stabbing of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski outside the Shaloh House Jewish Day School in the city's Brighton neighborhood Thursday.

The rabbi sustained multiple non-life-threatening wounds to his arm after allegedly being stabbed eight times. He has since been released from the hospital.

Police have yet to establish the motive for the stabbing, and the investigation into the incident continues.

District Attorney Rachael Rollins said that her office has opened a civil rights investigation to determine whether the incident was a hate crime.

“We have to recognize that antisemitism is on the rise, and we need to hold people accountable when they do this, so that they are made an example of,” the Associated Press quoted Rollins as saying at a vigil in support of Noginksi Friday.

Awad allegedly approached Noginski with a gun and a knife as the latter was on the phone on the steps of the school Thursday, the outlet reported, citing prosecutors and Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of Shaloh House.

Awad allegedly demanded the rabbi's car keys, but Noginski tried to run across the street to a nearby park, where he was stabbed multiple times.

Officers confronted Awad after the attack and drew their weapons on him after he allegedly pointed a firearm at one officer, prosecutors said. After putting his weapon on the ground, he allegedly kicked an officer in the stomach.

The incident forced the school to go into lockdown. No students were harmed during the incident.

“I am grateful to the Boston Police Department for their rapid response, and relieved that the perpetrator is in custody. I am looking forward to returning to my work as soon as possible,” Noginski said in a statement to Lubavitch.com from his hospital bed.

The hearing to determine whether Awad is a potential danger to society has been scheduled for Thursday. He has no records in Massachusetts but faces charges in Florida for alleged battery and theft. Records also showed that he was sent to a mental health facility there, according to prosecutors.