A man accused of stabbing a Boston rabbi nine times in an attack last week has been charged with hate crimes, the Suffolk County district attorney said.
Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed on July 1st outside the Chabad Shaloh House in Brighton.
Khaled Awad, 24, who was arrested after the stabbing, had previously been charged, but on Thursday he was arraigned on new hate crime counts — one of committing a civil rights violation and a second that deals with armed assault and battery to intimidate, prosecutors said.
“We believe this violent attack was rooted in anti-Semitism. We are going to call that out and charge that specifically,” District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement.
Investigators say Awad approached Rabbi Noginski outside the Shaloh House Thursday afternoon, chased him and stabbed him. When officers found the suspect, they say he pointed a gun at them before surrendering.
One of Awad’s former friends at the University of South Florida, Eric Valiente, told CBS Boston that Awad was “violent” and “anti-Semitic.”
Aidan Anderson, a former roommate of Awad’s who is Jewish, told CBS Boston he had to move out and get a restraining order last fall when Awad attacked him in their shared kitchen.
“He was very much anti-Semitic. He would say like all types of Jewish jokes. I thought he was joking at first and then I started to see seriousness in his comments,” said Eric.
Awad is an Egyptian who overstayed his student visa and lost his legal status on May 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News.
Noginski survived the attack and returned home to recover with his wife and 12 children.
Not sure why it took so long, everyone knew this was a hate crime for a long time.
Do you work in the Legal System?
Sorry but we Jews are more than happy that justice is being served.
Are you sure it was a hate crime? Oh, I didn’t realize. I thought it was a love crime.
Why wasn’t he also charged for attempted murder?
No less than COMPLETE justice.