This image provided by the Boulder Police Dept. shows Mohamed Sabry Soliman. (Boulder Police Dept. via AP)
BOULDER, CO – A man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a Colorado group that had gathered to bring attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a “Zionist group,” authorities said in court papers unsealed Monday charging him with a federal hate crime.
Witnesses in Boulder said the suspect, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, yelled “Free Palestine” and used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices. Eight people were injured in the attack, some with burns, as a group was concluding their weekly demonstration.
An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people,” a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel.
Federal court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could speak on Soliman’s behalf and no one answered the door at a Colorado Springs townhouse where public records show he lived.
The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, unfolded against the backdrop of a war between Israel and Hamas that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which is marked with the reading of the Torah and barely a week after a man who also yelled “Free Palestine” was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.
The eight victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88 and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said.
Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire.
The attack occurred as people with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza. Video from the scene shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.
Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear.
Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
Public records listed Soliman as living in a modest rented townhouse in Colorado Springs, where local media outlets reported federal law enforcement agents were on the scene Sunday.
