BOULDER, Colorado: 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.
Six victims hospitalized
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.
Alex Osante of San Diego said he was having lunch on a restaurant patio 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
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.
Law enforcement found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails near where Soliman was arrested. 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. Inside his car, law enforcement found papers with the words “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID,” the affidavit says.
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.
State and federal authorities planned to hold a news conference Monday afternoon.
Soliman was living in the US 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.
Colorado Springs neighbors recognized suspect
Shameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his family as kindly neighbors with five children, three young kids and two teenagers, who’d play with Pruiett’s kids in front of their building, share food and hellos.
Another neighbor, Kierra Johnson, who lives in the apartment next to Soliman’s, 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.
Soliman also worked as an Uber driver and had passed the company’s eligibility requirements, which include a criminal background check, according to a spokesperson for Uber.
The war in Gaza
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.