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What we know about the suspect and victims in the Colorado attack

What we know about the suspect and victims in the Colorado attack
You know this has really inflicted *** lot of fear in the Jewish community at large, the pro-Israel community. Colorado Governor Jared Polis reacting to the terrifying scene after *** man in Boulder, Colorado set multiple people on fire at *** Jewish community event. It was *** weekly gathering to support Israeli hostages in Gaza. Witnesses are reporting that the subject used *** makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. According to the FBI, the man yelled Free Palestine during the attack. It is clear that this is *** targeted act of violence, and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism. The subject has been identified as Mohammed Sabri Solomon, and he's 45 years old. Witnesses described the chaotic scene as bystanders rushed in with water to help the victims and extinguish the flames. It was two older ladies, um, just like kind of rolling around *** little bit, and they have like really bad burns all up on their legs. There was one woman, who was an elderly woman who had her hair charred. The man believed to be the suspect was still on the scene when police arrived. *** suspect was pointed out to our officers on the scene. Our officers immediately encountered that suspect. Who was taken into custody without incident. The suspect was injured. The suspect was taken to the hospital. I'm Reed Benyon reporting.
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Updated: 11:09 AM CDT Jun 2, 2025
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What we know about the suspect and victims in the Colorado attack
AP logo
Updated: 11:09 AM CDT Jun 2, 2025
Editorial Standards
Eight people calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza were injured at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, by a man who police say used a makeshift flamethrower and hurled an incendiary device into a crowd. The FBI immediately described the violence as a “targeted terror attack.”The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled “Free Palestine” during the Sunday attack on the group of demonstrators, said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office.Soliman was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment, but authorities didn’t elaborate on his injuries.Here is what we know about the attack:How the attack unfoldedAuthorities said the attacker targeted demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run for Their Lives, which organizes run and walk events to call for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza since they were captured by militants during the incursion into southern Israel that started the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.The group had gathered at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder frequented by tourists and students.The Israel-Hamas war has inflamed global tensions and contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. A week earlier, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot to death in Washington by a man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.Police in Boulder evacuated multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear.The violence occurred four years after 10 people were killed a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles northwest of Denver. 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.Several people hospitalizedThe people injured in the Pearl Street attack range in age from 52 to 88.Photos from the scene showed a woman lying on the ground in the fetal position with her hair soaked, and a man helping her and getting water from someone with a water jug.The injuries authorities found were consistent with reports of people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said, adding that injuries ranged from serious to minor.Redfearn told reporters Sunday evening that it was too early to discuss a motive but that witnesses were being interviewed.“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on,” he said.The suspect was arrested at the sceneMohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested at the scene. No charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”Video from the scene showed him shirtless and wearing jeans and holding two clear bottles with a transparent liquid in them while shouting at onlookers.Another video shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on the suspect.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.

Eight people calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza were injured at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, by a man who police say used a makeshift flamethrower and hurled an incendiary device into a crowd. The FBI immediately described the violence as a “targeted terror attack.”

The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled “Free Palestine” during the Sunday attack on the group of demonstrators, said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office.

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Soliman was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment, but authorities didn’t elaborate on his injuries.

Here is what we know about the attack:

How the attack unfolded

Authorities said the attacker targeted demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run for Their Lives, which organizes run and walk events to call for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza since they were captured by militants during the incursion into southern Israel that started the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.

The group had gathered at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder frequented by tourists and students.

The Israel-Hamas war has inflamed global tensions and contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. A week earlier, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot to death in Washington by a man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.

Police in Boulder evacuated multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear.

The violence occurred four years after 10 people were killed a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles northwest of Denver. 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.

Several people hospitalized

The people injured in the Pearl Street attack range in age from 52 to 88.

Photos from the scene showed a woman lying on the ground in the fetal position with her hair soaked, and a man helping her and getting water from someone with a water jug.

The injuries authorities found were consistent with reports of people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said, adding that injuries ranged from serious to minor.

Redfearn told reporters Sunday evening that it was too early to discuss a motive but that witnesses were being interviewed.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on,” he said.

The suspect was arrested at the scene

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested at the scene. No charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”

Video from the scene showed him shirtless and wearing jeans and holding two clear bottles with a transparent liquid in them while shouting at onlookers.

Another video shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on the suspect.

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.