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The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a Colorado group that gathered to pay attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza, planned an attack for over a year and specifically targeted what he called a “Zionist group,” authorities said in court documents sealed Monday that he had accused him of federal hate crimes.
Boulder’s witnesses said the suspect, Mohammed Sabri Soliman, 45, cried out “free Palestine” and used a makeshift flamethrower and a jammed Cen device. As the group was finishing weekly demonstrations, eight people were injured and some were burned in the attack.
The FBI affidavit says that after being taken into custody on Sunday, Soliman confessed to the attack and told police he would do it again.
A burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, unfolded against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas, continuing to inflame global tensions and contributed to a surge in anti-sensory violence in the United States. The attack took place at the beginning of the Jewish holiday in Sharvot. This was marked in a Torah reading, and was accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staff outside the Jewish museum in Washington.
US Attorney General Pam Bondy said in a statement that Soliman will be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We never tolerate this kind of hatred,” she said.
The attack occurred when the group finished their demonstrations every week.
The eight injured victims range from 52 to 88 years old, with injuries ranging from serious to minors, officials said.
Six of the injured were taken to hospital and four were released, said Denver-based organizer Miri Kornfeld. She said one of the hospitalized people’s clothing had burned.
“The victim’s status has improved, but it’s still not in the woods,” she said.
The attack came as people from a volunteer group called Run for Thirs Life were closing out weekly demonstrations to increase visibility into the hostages remaining in Gaza. Video from the scene shows an eyewitness screaming, “He’s right there. He’s throwing a Molotov cocktail.” As a police officer who draws a gun, he is heading to a bare chested suspect holding a container in each hand.
San Diego’s Alex Osante said he was having lunch on the restaurant patio across the pedestrian mall when he heard people scream and scream following the crash and “boom” crash crash that said a bottle was broken on the ground.
In the video of the scene Osante filmed, Osante was seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground whom she said she had set a fire while attacking.
Suspects reappeared after the initial attack before being arrested
After the first attack, Osante says that the suspect went behind some bushes before reappearing and threw a Molotov cocktail, but apparently he accidentally set it on fire when he threw it. The man then took off his shirt and what looked like a bulletproof vest before police arrived. The man fell to the ground and was arrested without obvious resistance in the video filmed.
Law enforcement has discovered more than 12 Molotov cocktails near where Soliman was arrested. The device consisted of glass wine caraph bottles or bottles with clear liquid and red rags hanging from them, the FBI said. In his car, law enforcement found the paper with the words “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID,” the affidavit says.
Soliman told investigators he built a homemade Molotov cocktail after conducting research on YouTube and purchasing ingredients.
“He said he had planned an attack for a year and waited until his daughter graduated and made the attack,” the affidavit said.
Authorities say they believe the suspect acted alone.
Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was injured and taken to the hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but the photo on the booking showed him having a large bandage in one ear.
State and federal officials had planned to hold a press conference Monday afternoon.
Soliman was illegally living in the United States after entering the country on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023 in August 2023, said Homeland Security Deputy Director Tricia McLaughlin in a post from X that Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and died in March 2023. DHS did not respond immediately to requests for additional information.
Public records state that Soliman lives in a modest rental townhouse in Colorado Springs, with local media reporting federal law enforcement on the scene on Sunday.
Sameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his family, with five children, three young children, two teenagers, as kind neighbors with two teenagers who were playing with Pruiett’s children in front of the building. However, when she saw Soliman in Boulder’s video, she said it was difficult to recognize him when she held a shirtless bottle with flames licking the grass in front of him.
“There had to be something that really hinders him, because we’re not the ones we see in the neighborhood,” Pruett said.
Another neighbor, Kiera Johnson, lives in an apartment next to Soliman, and says he can hear screams from his apartment at night, and once called the police for screaming and screaming.
On Sunday, Pruett saw them waiting on the street until the evening and told them through the megaphone to come out to someone in Soliman’s house. No one came out and no one seemed inside, Pruett said. The attack lasted several hours, she said.
According to an online resume in Soliman’s name, he is employed by a Denver-area healthcare company that works in accounting and inventory management, and his former employer is listed as an Egyptian company. Under education, the resume listed Al-Azhar University, a history center for learning and history in Islamic and Arabic, in Cairo.
Soliman also works as an Uber driver, and has passed eligibility requirements for the company, including criminal history checks, according to an Uber spokesperson. The company has since banned Soliman’s accounts and has been in touch with law enforcement.
FBI leaders quickly declared the attack an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department condemned it as “an unnecessary act of violence following recent attacks on Jewish Americans.”
“Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country,” said Mark Mikalek, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denverfield office, including Boulder.
In New York, the police department said it has enhanced its presence in religious sites in the city for Shabuott.
The Israeli war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and acquiring around 250 people. They still hold 58 hostages, with about a third of the remaining ones believed to be alive after being released in ceasefire contracts or other transactions.
Israeli military campaigns have killed more than 54,000 people in Hamaslan Gaza, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The attacks destroyed vast areas, expelled about 90% of the population, and relied almost entirely on international aid.
The violence comes four years after killing 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder about 25 miles northwest of Denver. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after the ju judge refused his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading innocence on insanity.
Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Brittany Peterson and David Zalubowski, Boulder, Colorado. Jesse Bedayn, Colorado Springs; Kimberly Crusi of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Karnowski of Minneapolis. Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Biesecker of Washington and Jim Mastian of New York contributed to this report.
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