Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston, Massachusetts, USAiStock

A man charged with stabbing a rabbi outside a Jewish school in Boston now faces additional hate crime offenses, prosecutors said Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

Khaled Awad, who is originally from Egypt, arrived in the US with biased views against Jews, Christians and American culture, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Margaret Hegarty said during a court hearing.

Witnesses who knew or interacted with Awad told investigators he would become angry if his views were challenged, she said.

“The witnesses also noticed that the suspect would stereotype various differences in racial groups and behavior, which included whites, Blacks and that he was especially harsh on Jews,’’ the prosecutor said, according to AP.

Awad, 24, has pleaded not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and six other charges in connection with the July 1 stabbing of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski.

“We believe this was rooted in anti-Semitism,” District Attorney Rachael Rollins said outside court.

Awad’s college roommates have described the 24-year-old as “violent” and “very much-anti-Semitic”.

The former college roommates at the University of Florida, where he had been studying chemical engineering until recently, told CBS that Awad had shown signs with regard to violence and was making worrying jokes about Jews.

Rabbi Noginski was stabbed multiple times in the arm and was released from the hospital the day after the stabbing.

According to media reports, Rabbi Noginski was initially sitting on the steps of the building when the suspect walked up to him and threatened him with a gun.

The suspect then told Rabbi Noginski to take him to his car where he attempted to force him inside. When he fled his attacker by running across the street to Brighton Common, a small-sized park, the man chased after him and stabbed him nine times in the arm with a knife.