At least six people were injured in what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) called a "targeted terror attack" outside a mall in Boulder, Colorado, where a group of Israeli supporters had gathered to raise attention to several hostages held in Gaza. The FBI has identified 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman as the suspect who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at participants of the pro-Israel demonstration near Pearl Street Mall.
Video footage of the attack has emerged online, showing Soliman--wearing just jeans and sunglasses-- yelling "Free Palestine" as he used a makeshift flamethrower in the attack demonstrators. He also appeared to say, "End Zionists... they are terrorists' and 'free Palestine."
Soliman is an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa after entering the US during the Biden administration, Fox News reported, citing three Homeland Security and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement sources.
Per the report, Soliman first arrived in the US after landing at Los Angeles International Airport on August 27, 2022, with a non-immigrant visa. Under his visa terms, he was authorised to stay in the US till February 2, 2023, but he reportedly never left.
On September 9, 2022, he filed a claim with US Citizenship and Immigration Services and was granted work authorisation on March 29, 2023, which was valid through March of this year, the report said.
Though no charges were immediately announced against the suspect, officials said they expect to hold him "fully accountable."
Boulder police said Soliman was detained 'without incident' and also taken to the hospital with "minor injuries". Police did not disclose the motivation behind the attack, saying, "It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on."
Though law enforcement authorities are yet to disclose more information about the suspect, US President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) ally, Laura Loomer, took to X, claiming that Soliman is "not a Colorado man" and he should be deported.
"Mohamad Soliman" is not a "Colorado Man". We need MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW!" Loomer wrote on X.
About The Attack
The attack took place at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States.
The attack came more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza" as he was being led away by police.
FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department - which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations - decried the attack as a "needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans."
"This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it," FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was "closely monitoring" the situation, adding that "hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable."
