Brighton Rabbi Stabbing: Khaled Awad Indicted in Suffolk Superior Court

The case against a man accused of stabbing a rabbi in Boston's Brighton neighborhood is moving to superior court.

Twenty-four-year-old Khaled Awad of Brighton has been indicted on nine charges, including armed assault with intent to murder, violating a person's Constitutional rights and several assault and battery charges, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court.

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Awad is accused of stabbing Rabbi Shlomo Noginski nine times outside a Jewish day school on July 1. He was previously arraigned last month on hate crime charge s at the Brighton Division of Boston Municipal Court.

While prosecutors brought hate charges against Khaled Awad, the suspect's defense attorney says it was not a crime based on hate, but it was a crime of opportunity about stealing a van.

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Prosecutors said the superior court "is the appropriate court of jurisdiction to address the serious felony offenses alleged in this case."

"Every person deserves to live without fear as their full authentic selves. It is imperative that we denounce hatred and bigotry in any form and respond clearly and firmly when we encounter it," District Attorney Rollins said in a statement. "Hate has no place in Suffolk County. We will hold violent offenders accountable when they harm. This act of violence nearly killed the victim. But it also traumatized the entire Jewish community and deeply impacted the people of Brighton."

Awad is being held at Bridgewater State Hospital after his attorney requested a mental health evaluation. He pleaded not guilty when the charges were brought against him in municipal court.

A rabbi from Boston who was stabbed Thursday says he hopes to get back to work soon.

Noginski, a father of 12, returned home from the hospital after the stabbing. Though he was in pain, he said in a video at the time that he feels lucky to be alive.

"By the Grace of G-d, a great miracle has just happened to me. G-d saved me," Noginski said. "I am feeling relatively well, although still in pain. Yes, I am in pain, but it could have been so much worse."