BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Authorities reported on Monday that they have identified four more individuals as victims in the Boulder incident where a man allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at a gathering focused on the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza, raising the injury count to 12.
The suspect allegedly planned the attack over the course of a year, specifically targeting what he referred to as a “Zionist group,” according to court documents that charge him with a federal hate crime.
Witnesses reported that the suspect, identified by Boulder police as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, shouted “Free Palestine” while using a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices. Some court documents also spelled his first name as Mohammed.
Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment that may include amended allegations.
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.
“He said he had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it,” police wrote. “Mohamed described his hopes for everyone in the Zionist group to die.”
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 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 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.
Six victims hospitalized
The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. All four of the latest victims had what police described as minor injuries.
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 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.
Witness Alex Osante of San Diego said he was across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking on the ground and a “boom” followed by people yelling and screaming.
In video of the scene captured by Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught on fire during the attack.
Molotov cocktails found
Soliman said he dressed up like gardener with an orange vest in order to get as close to the group as possible, even purchasing flowers from Home Depot, police wrote. He had gas in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn’t spray it on anyone but himself “because he had planned on dying.”
He told investigators he only threw two Molotov cocktails at the group “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,” police wrote.
After the initial attack, Osante said the suspect went behind some bushes and then reemerged and threw a Molotov cocktail but apparently accidentally caught himself on fire as he threw it. The man then took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said 16 unused Molotov cocktails were recovered by law enforcement. The devices were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said.
Soliman told investigators he constructed homemade Molotov cocktails after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients.
“He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,” the affidavit says.
Suspect hospitalized after attack
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 the social platform 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.
Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved to Colorado Springs three years ago, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait.
Colorado Springs neighbors recognized suspect
Shameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his wife as kindly neighbors with three young kids and two teenagers, who’d play with Pruiett’s kids.
Another neighbor, Kierra Johnson, said she could often hear shouting at night from his apartment and once called police because of the screaming and yelling.
On Sunday, Pruiett saw law enforcement vehicles waiting on the street throughout the day until the evening, when they spoke through a megaphone telling anyone in Soliman’s home to come out. Nobody came out and it did not appear anyone was inside, said Pruiett.
An online resume under Soliman’s name said he was employed by a Denver-area health care company working in accounting and inventory control, with prior employers listed as companies in Egypt. Under education, the resume listed Al-Azhar University, a historic center for Islamic and Arabic learning located in Cairo.
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Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Brittany Peterson and David Zalubowski in Boulder, Colorado; Jesse Bedayn in Colorado Springs; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Biesecker in Washington and Jim Mustian in New York contributed to this report.
