Boston rabbi stabbing suspect denied bail as Jewish leaders urge hate crime probe

The 24-year-old man accused of stabbing a boston” target=”_blank”>Boston< multiple times outside a synagogue was ordered held without bail Friday.

A judge ordered a hearing for Khaled Awad, of Brighton, the Boston Herald reported. Awad is charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.

An ICE spokesperson told Fox News that Awad is a citizen of Egypt who entered the U.S. on a student visa in August 2019, but lost his legal status in the U.S. on May 14 because he failed to stay enrolled as required by law. 

“The Boston Police Department (BPD) arrested Awad July 1 for multiple criminal charges, including assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.  On the same day, ICE lodged a detainer with the BPD requesting to take custody of Awad at the conclusion of his local criminal proceedings,” said ICE spokesperson Rachael Yong Yow.

Khaled Awad is led into court while arraigned on charges in the stabbing of a rabbi near a Jewish day school, in Brighton District Court in Boston on Friday July. Rabbi Shlomo Noginski is in "stable condition and in good spirits" after being stabbed several times in the arm, Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of Shaloh House, posted on Facebook. (Mary Schwalm/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Khaled Awad is led into court while arraigned on charges in the stabbing of a rabbi near a Jewish day school, in Brighton District Court in Boston on Friday July. Rabbi Shlomo Noginski is in "stable condition and in good spirits" after being stabbed several times in the arm, Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of Shaloh House, posted on Facebook. (Mary Schwalm/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

The charges are connected to the Thursday stabbing of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski outside the Shaloh House Jewish Day School in Brighton. He sustained multiple non-life threatening wounds to his arm and is recovering in a hospital.  

Awad allegedly drew a gun and told the rabbi to take him to his car and attempted to force him inside, Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of Shaloh House, told Fox News. Noginski tried running across the street to a nearby park called Brighton Common and was anti-semitism” target=”_blank”>stabbed<

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

The school was running a day camp at the time of the attack and went into a brief lockdown, Rodkin said. No one else was harmed. 

A motive for the attack was not revealed.

In court, prosecutors said Awad does not have a criminal record in Massachusetts but faces charges in Florida for alleged battery and theft. He may also face civil rights charges, prosecutors said. 

Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed multiple times Thursday outside a Boston synagogue, authorities said. He is recovering from his wounds. 

Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed multiple times Thursday outside a Boston synagogue, authorities said. He is recovering from his wounds. 
(Dan Rodkin )

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins was in the courtroom Friday and is facing calls from Jewish leaders to investigate the stabbing as a hate crime.

“This was an act of hate, of darkness,” Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston spokesperson Shira Goodman said, according to WBUR. “We will continue to live Jewish lives. We’re going to continue to pray at our synagogues, to attend our schools … and double down on social justice for all. That is light and that is love.”

Noginski, a father of 12, experienced anti-semitism” target=”_blank”>anti-Semitism< 

“The State of Israel will do everything in its power to ensure the safety and security of Jews throughout the world,” he wrote, according to a translation of the tweet. “I pray for the speedy healing of Rabbi Shlomo Naginsky.”

Robert Trestan, the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League New England, said the attack sent a “shockwave of fear and anxiety throughout the community.”

Tagged:

Leave a Reply