Who is Mohamed Soliman? The Boulder terror assault suspect accused of firebombing pro-Israel rally in Colorado | EUROtoday

A peaceable demonstration elevating consciousness for Israeli hostages took a harrowing flip after a person allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set marchers ablaze.

Police in Boulder, Colorado have arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, in reference to the assault. The FBI referred to as the assault a “targeted act of violence” and is investigating it as an act of terrorism.

The man allegedly shouted “Free Palestine!” as he used a “makeshift flame thrower” and threw an “incendiary device” into the crowd, the FBI said.

Eight people were injured in the attack, with one in critical condition. The victims have not been publicly identified.

Here’s everything we know about the attack.

Who is Mohamed Soliman?

Police arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, on Sunday.

Authorities have not yet announced any charges against him, but the FBI said the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

Soliman is a native of Egypt. He entered the country in August 2022 on a visa issued during the administration of former President Joe Biden, on a non-immigrant visa that allowed him to stay until February 2023, Department of Homeland Security sources told Fox News.

Those sources told Fox that Soliman was granted work authorization in March 2023, which allowed him to stay until March 2025.

He has now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of causing serious injury to an at-risk adult or someone over 70 and one count of using explosives or incendiary devices.

What happened in Boulder?

Just after 2 p.m. on Sunday, Boulder Police announced they were responding to a report that a man with a weapon was setting people on fire.

At the time of the attack, Run for Their Lives, a group of demonstrators raising awareness for the Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza, were marching on Pearl Street, as they do every Sunday, organizations have said.

Soliman allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device” into the crowd as he yelled “Free Palestine!”, the FBI said.

Ed Victor, one of about 30 people marching, told CBS News that the group was peacefully walking down Pearl Street when the attack occurred.

“… rapidly, I felt the warmth. It was a Molotov cocktail equal, a gasoline bomb in a glass jar, thrown,” Victor advised the outlet.

Another marcher “saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” he stated.

Two sources advised CBS News that witnesses advised investigators the suspect additionally yelled “End Zionist!” within the assault.

How many victims had been injured?

Authorities have confirmed the identities of eight individuals – 4 males and 4 ladies – aged between 52 and 88 who had been injured within the assault. Earlier, authorities stated there have been six injured individuals.

The oldest sufferer is a Holocaust survivor and a “very loving person”, Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director on the University of Colorado Boulder, advised CBS News.

Some had been affected by wounds that had been in step with burns, Redfearn stated. Their accidents vary from minor to vital, in response to the FBI.

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora advised 9News that they had obtained two sufferers in reference to the assault.

A witness advised FOX31 that every sufferer they noticed “ had skin basically melted or hanging … from their legs.”

What has been stated in regards to the Boulder terror assault?

Temple Emmanuel Senior Rabbi Joseph Black stated the Jewish group was shocked.

“I think we’re feeling a multitude of emotions – fear, anger, despair,” he advised Denver7, including that that Temle Emmanuel has taken “very intense security protocols” to maintain the congregation protected.

“This will not stop us, in any way, shape or form,” he stated.

Nonprofit organizations and federal officers have condemned the assault.

“My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation,” Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, wrote in a press release.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Negus, who represents Boulder, stated he’s “praying hard” for the victims. “We are closely monitoring, and are in contact with local law enforcement regarding the horrific attack on Pearl Street Mall. Praying hard for the victims,” he wrote on X.

A senior White House official advised The Independent that the president has been briefed on the scenario.

The Boulder Jewish Community issued a joint assertion within the wake of the incident. “We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza. We don’t have all the details of what is unfolding, and we promise to keep our community informed,” the statement read.

The statement continued: “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another. Strength to you all.”

The Anti-Defamation League stated it was conscious of the stories of the assault at Boulder Run for Their Lives occasion, which the nonprofit described as “a weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages kidnapped on 10/7.”

Jim Berk, the CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, denounced Sunday’s assault and talked about the latest killing of the couple working at Israel’s embassy in Washington D.C.

“This marks the second violent assault on Jewish and pro-Israel civilians in the U.S. in less than two weeks—a chilling escalation that cannot be dismissed as coincidence. On May 21, two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down in cold blood in Washington, D.C., and now the extremist violence has come to Boulder, CO,” stated Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk.

“Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism. The nonstop demonization of Israel and Zionism on our campuses, in our streets, and across digital platforms has created a climate where hate flourishes, and physical attacks—even murder—of Jews is inevitable.”