Rabbi Stabbed Outside Synagogue in Boston

BOSTON (Chabad.org/ Mordechai Lightstone) – Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was repeatedly stabbed today outside of the Shaloh House Jewish Day School in Brighton, Mass. Noginski serves as a rabbi and teacher at Shaloh House, a Chabad institution serving the Boston-area’s Russian Jewish community, and their summer day camp was in session. Noginski is currently being treated at a local hospital and is in stable condition.

A firearm and a knife were found on the attacker when he was apprehended by police.

At the time of the stabbing, many of the campers were off site and not near the scene of the attack and the others were safely in the building. The school building went into immediate lockdown and no campers were harmed.

The motive for the attack remains unclear, as Boston police continue their investigation.

According to a report, Noginski was sitting on the front steps of the Shaloh House on his cell phone. The suspect approached him, drew a gun and asked Noginski to take him to his car. When the suspect attempted to force Noginski into the car, the rabbi tried running across the street to a small park called Brighton Common, where the suspect stabbed Noginski multiple times in the arm. As the rabbi tried to fend off the attacker he raised a commotion, finally causing the suspect to flee. The suspect was apprehended by police almost immediately.

Noginski was brought to the hospital and is undergoing treatment.

“We are all very shaken by what happened and ask for you to please keep Rabbi Noginski in your prayers,” Shaloh House director Rabbi Don Rodkin said in a sta. “We are heartened by the outpouring of concern and compassion we have received in just the last hours since the incident.”

Established in 1962, Shaloh House Jewish Day School offers an accessible Jewish education to every Jewish child in the Boston area. It has been under the direction of Rabbi Dan Rodkin since 2000.