Rabbi Shlomo Noginski of the Shaloh House, said he felt lucky to be alive after he survived being stabbed eight times in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood Thursday outside of a Jewish Day School.
"By the Grace of G-d, a great miracle has just happened to me. G-d saved me," Noginski said in a video obtained by NBC10 Boston. "I am feeling relatively well, although still in pain. Yes, I am in pain, but it could have been so much worse."
Noginski is home from the hospital after he was stabbed eight times in the arm and shoulder just outside of the Shaloh House, a Chabad center that runs a school, camp and more, on Chestnut Hill Avenue Thursday afternoon.
His accused attacker, Khaled Awad, appeared in court Friday, where prosecutors said that the incident began with Awad holding a gun and demanding that Noginski give him the keys to a van, which belongs to the Shaloh House. When he ordered Noginski into the van, the rabbi tried to run, but Awad chased after him into the park.
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There, he stabbed Noginski eight or nine times, but Noginski kept running, prosecutors said. Awad "disengaged" when he saw that witnesses were noticing the attack -- it was caught on video, and Noginski took a photo of his attacker as well.
Rabbi Dan Rodkin, executive director of the Shaloh House, described how Noginski, a black belt in judo, used his training to divert the violent attack out of sight from children during a vigil Friday in Brighton Common. A swath of elected officials, Jewish leaders and community members gathered in a show of support at the scene of the stabbing.
"I am truly grateful for the outpouring of support and prayers. From our community here in Brighton, to the entire City of Boston, and the rest of the world who have expressed their interest and concern, I want to say thank you." Noginski said. "It is also very fortunate that the assailant encountered me, and I was therefore able to divert his attention from the school and the children."
After he was arrested, Awad allegedly kicked an officer in the stomach while he was being put in a Boston police squad car. Awad pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.
The Boston Police Department was investigating to determine whether or not the incident is a hate crime, Boston Mayor Kim Janey said at the vigil.
Noginski said he hopes to return to his work "as soon as possible." The rabbi encouraged people to "respond to darkness and evil" by "increasing in acts of goodness and kindness."
Noginski addressed the Jewish community in Hebrew through the video. Rodkin provided a translation.
