Mohamed Soliman allegedly planned Molotov cocktail attack after gun purchase denial: docs
The suspect accused of bombing a gathering of pro-Israel demonstrators said he turned to improvised explosive devices after being denied the purchase of a firearm due to his immigration status.
According to an affidavit filed by the Boulder Police Department, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman told detectives that he had taken a concealed carry class in preparation to buy a firearm but was ultimately blocked from completing the purchase because he is not a U.S. citizen.
"He said that he had previously tried to purchase a firearm, but resorted to the Molotov cocktails when he could not purchase a gun because he was not a legal citizen," acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said in a news conference on Monday afternoon.
With access to guns restricted, the Egyptian national revealed to authorities that he turned to YouTube to learn how to construct homemade firebombs.
Soliman allegedly created 18 Molotov cocktails before driving to Boulder on Sunday, June 1 and prepared for the peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators to arrive for the "Run For Their Lives," in support of the Israeli hostages. Soliman is accused of throwing two incendiary devices at the crowd.
Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty said they have identified four additional victims – bringing the total to 12. None of the victims have died.
"We're going to continue to encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and contact law enforcement," Dougherty said in the Monday news conference. "But we now have 12 victims. And later this week, we'll be filing formal charges against him."
Authorities said all but two victims have been released from area hospitals. They did not note the severity of the injuries from the attack.
READ THE AFFIDAVIT: APP USERS, CLICK HERE
Victims and witnesses observed Soliman throw what appeared to be a glass bottle, which burst upon impact, creating large flames, the affidavit said. He also allegedly used a commercial weed sprayer as a "makeshift blowtorch."
According to the affidavit, authorities discovered multiple glass bottles containing liquid, a lighter, rags, an insecticide sprayer, and an AR-style rifle BB gun in Soliman's 2015 silver Toyota Prius.
Along with the materials, authorities also found a Quran and paperwork with the words, "Israel," "Palestine" and "USAID."
In his interview with law enforcement, Soliman said he bore no remorse for his actions and reiterated his intent to carry them out again if given the opportunity.
The affidavit noted that Soliman left behind an iPhone and a journal at his Colorado Springs home, detailing his motivations and preparations for the attack.
Now facing a litany of charges – including multiple counts of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and possession of incendiary devices – Soliman is being held on a $10 million bond.
Dougherty outlined the severe potential penalties facing Soliman if convicted on all charges related to the June 1 attack. He faces 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder – eight for attempted murder with intent and deliberation, and eight for attempted murder with extreme indifference.
If convicted and the sentences are ordered to run consecutively, he could face a maximum of 384 years in state prison for those charges alone. In addition, Soliman is charged with two counts of use of an incendiary device, which could add up to 48 years if served consecutively.
He also faces 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device, carrying a potential additional 192 years. In total, the maximum possible sentence could reach 624 years if all convictions are handed down and run consecutively.
Along with charges on the state level, he has also been federally charged with a hate crime involving actual or perceived race, religion or national origin.
"No one should ever be subjected to violence of any kind. But our laws recognize that such violence is particularly pernicious when someone is targeted because of their race, their religion, or their national origin," Grewell said. "According to our complaint and the charges brought by D.A. Dougherty's office, Mr. Soliman stated that he had been planning this attack for a year, and he acted because he hated what he called the 'Zionist group.'"
His next court appearance, for filing charges, will be Thursday, June 5 at 3:30 p.m. MT.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump has demolished the liberal myth. Migrants shouldn't be treated equally
Sometimes the best policies are the ones that produce the shrillest wails from the Left. Such may be the case with Trump's latest travel ban, which by rights should spark serious soul-searching in Britain. Overnight, the President announced restrictions on the citizens of 12 countries. This was a response to the recent terror attack on Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, is alleged to have thrown firebombs and sprayed burning petrol at a Jewish vigil on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Although Egypt is not on the list, Homeland Security officials said Mr Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. So far, so Trumpian. (He took similar measures during his first term, after all, and they were repealed by Joe Biden who called them 'a stain on our national conscience'.) But then came the kicker. 'We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,' Trump said. Ouch. If the months of Trump 2.0 have so far shifted the Overton window across the West, allowing even the likes of Sir Keir Starmer to contemplate – at least rhetorically – tackling immigration, then such a travel ban should be welcomed on these shores as well. Already, the usual suspects are accusing Trump of being 'racist'. But a glance at the range of countries on the list shows that this is not a question of race, or even religion. Rather, it is a question of homeland security, and that holds a stark lesson for Britain. A few months back, official data revealed that though foreigners comprise just 15 per cent of the population of our country, they commit 41 per cent of all crime and up to a quarter of sex crimes. In the first nine months of 2024, almost 14 per cent of grooming suspects were Pakistani, five times their share of the population. Two nationalities – Afghans and Eritreans – were more than 20 times more likely to account for sexual offence convictions than British citizens, according to the data. Overall, foreign nationals were 71 per cent more likely than Britons to be responsible for sex crime convictions. Based on convictions per 10,000 of the population, Afghans with 77 convictions topped the table with a rate of 59 per 10,000, 22.3 times that of Britons. They were followed by Eritreans, who accounted for 59 convictions at a rate of 53.6 per 10,000 of their population. In March 2025, data from the Ministry of Justice revealed that foreigners, who claim £1 billion a month in benefits, were also responsible for large proportions of violence, robbery, fraud and drug offences, between 2021 and 2023. There was no data for terrorism offences or acts of anti-Semitism. But does anybody want to hazard a guess? Which brings us to a fundamental question. Why? Why does Britain need to allow the criminals of the world to come to our shores to abuse women and girls, run criminal enterprises, foster terrorism and anti-Semitism, and claim benefits in the process? Obviously not all foreigners from these countries behave in this way. But facts aren't racist. Large numbers are pulling down our pants, spanking our buttocks and pulling them up again. In fact, the problem is not one of race but one of politics and culture. In my new book, Never Again? How the West Betrayed the Jews and Itself, which is coming out at the end of September, I look at groundbreaking research published in April by cognitive scientists Scott Barry Kaufman and Craig Neumann. They found that 'citizens in democratic countries have more benevolent traits, fewer malevolent traits, and greater well-being' than those living under autocratic regimes. Based on a study of 200,000 people from 75 countries, people living under autocracies were found to be much more likely to exhibit the 'Dark Triad' of negative personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. In democracies, by contrast, more people displayed the 'Light Triad' of humanism, faith in humanity and 'Kantianism', or treating people with dignity in their own right rather than viewing them as a means to an end. Obviously, this is not related to race. Russians are hardly black, but they hardly live in a democracy either. It is a case of cognitive development. The problem occurs when, in an age of global travel, 'Dark Triad' migrants who grew up in despotic regimes encounter gullible 'Light Triad' officials in the democracies, whose empathies are easily played upon. That is why we find British judges ruling that an Albanian convict should avoid deportation because his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, a Pakistani drug dealer could stay so he could teach his son about Islam, and a paedophile of the same nationality should not be sent home since it would be 'unduly harsh' on his own children. These real-life cases, reported by the Telegraph, provide a clear collision of the 'Dark Triad' traits in the criminals and the 'Light Triad' tendencies in the judges. It is a chemical reaction waiting to happen, and the vast majority of the population, wherever they are born, are suffering the consequences. In other words, we are being taken for fools. No foreign criminal has a God-given right to set up home in Britain just because he fancies it. This is our home, and although we are delighted to welcome strangers, that generosity should be withdrawn from those who nick our television and threaten our children – even if their own happen to like the chicken nuggets in our fridge. Trump has now thrown down the gauntlet. What is the British Government going to do to set our own house in order? Will it take an anti-Semitic outrage like the firebombing in Colorado before the Prime Minister takes action? Will he take action even then? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Held at gunpoint: BBC team detained by Israeli forces in southern Syria
On the morning of 9 May, I was part of a BBC Arabic team which left the Syrian capital, Damascus, for the southern province of Deraa. From there we planned to go to the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. We wanted to get close to the Syrian territory that has been seized by the Israeli military since December, when Israel's prime minister said it was taking control indefinitely of a demilitarised buffer zone and neighbouring areas following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. We were a team of seven - myself (a British citizen), two Iraqi BBC staff, and four Syrians - three freelancers and one BBC cameraman. Israel says it struck near Syria palace over violence in Druze areas First Druze crossing in 50 years as Israel courts allies in Syria Israeli strikes in Syria a challenge to Turkey We were filming near one of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) observation posts, close to the town of al-Rafeed, when an official from the UN told us that the Israeli side had inquired about our identity and had been informed that we were a BBC crew. We next drove north towards Quneitra city, which has been located inside the buffer zone since a 1974 disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel, which captured the Golan during the 1967 Middle East war. About 200m (660ft) away from the city, an unguarded checkpoint blocked the road. To the side of the checkpoint we spotted Merkava tanks, one of which was flying an Israeli flag. From a nearby tower, two Israeli soldiers were watching us - one of them through binoculars - and my colleague held his BBC ID up for them to see. The BBC has complained to the Israeli military about what happened next to my team, but it has not yet received a response. A minute after we started filming in the area, a white car approached from the other side of the checkpoint. Four Israeli soldiers got out of the car and surrounded us. They pointed their rifles at our heads and ordered us to place the camera on the side of the road. I tried to explain that we were a BBC crew, but things escalated unexpectedly quickly. I was able to send a message to my BBC colleagues in London saying that we had been stopped by the Israeli military before our phones and all equipment were confiscated, more Israeli soldiers arrived in a Humvee military vehicle, and our car was thoroughly searched. The soldiers escorted us through a barrier into the city of Quneitra and stopped at the crossing point that separates Quneitra from the occupied Golan. There, the soldiers began reviewing the footage as we sat in our car, while one pointed his rifle at my head from metres away. After more than two hours, one of the soldiers asked me to step out of the car and speak on a mobile phone. I didn't know who the person on the line was. He spoke broken Arabic. He asked why we were filming Israeli military positions. I told him I was a British BBC journalist and explained to him the nature of our work. I returned to my car, and the rifle was again aimed at my head. After another hour of waiting, one more vehicle arrived. A group of security personnel got out of the car carrying blindfolds and plastic zip ties and asked me to step out first. The lead officer, who spoke fluent Palestinian Arabic dialect, took me by the hand towards one of the rooms at the crossing point which were previously used by the Syrian army. The floor was strewn with broken glass and rubbish. He told me that they would treat me differently - no handcuffs, nor blindfold - unlike the rest of my team. I was in shock. I asked why they were doing this when they knew we were a BBC crew. He said he wanted to help get us out quickly and that we had to comply with their instructions. Moments later, another officer entered and told me to take off all my clothes except my underwear. I initially refused, but they insisted, and threatened me, so I complied. He inspected even inside my underwear, both front and back, searched my clothes, then told me to put them back on and started interrogating me - including personal questions about my children and their ages. When they eventually let me out of the room, I witnessed the horrific scene of my team members, tied up and blindfolded. I pleaded to the officer to release them, and he promised to do so after the interrogations. They were taken one by one to the same room for strip search and questioning. They returned with their hands still bound but not blindfolded. The team's interrogation lasted more than two hours, during which all our phones and laptops were examined, and many photos - including personal ones - were deleted. The officer threatened us with worse consequences if we approached the frontier from the Syrian side again, and said that they know everything about us and would track us down if any hidden or un-deleted photo was ever published. About seven hours after our detention - it was past 21:00 - we were taken by two vehicles, one in front of our car and the other behind us, to a rural area about 2km (1.2 miles) outside Quneitra. There, the vehicles stopped and a bag containing our phones was thrown towards us before the vehicles left. Lost in the dark with no signal, no internet and no idea where we were, we kept driving until we reached a small village. A group of children pointed us to the highway, warning that a wrong turn could draw Israeli fire. Ten tense minutes later, we found the road. Forty-five minutes after that, we were in Damascus. Israel demands complete demilitarisation of southern Syria 'We just need peace': BBC speaks to Syrians watching Israel's incursion Israel seizes Golan buffer zone after Syrian troops leave positions
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cal Poly building vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists; 2 suspects in custody
Cal Poly's Administration Building was vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists Wednesday afternoon. According to an email sent to the Cal Poly campus community from Cal Poly president Jeffrey Armstrong, a group of five individuals entered the university's Financial Aid and Student Accounts office in the Administration Building and spray-painted graffiti on walls, windows, furniture, computers, carpets and floors on Wednesday afternoon. 'Thankfully, no one was physically harmed in the incident, but it was traumatizing for numerous Cal Poly employees and students who were in the office at the time,' Armstrong's statement read. Cal Poly police arrived, causing the five individuals to flee the scene, though two suspects have been identified and are in custody for questioning, Armstrong said. In his statement, Armstrong said there is 'simply zero tolerance' for the individuals' behavior. 'Those participating in violence and criminal activity which endangers other s will be expelled (if they are students), arrested and held fully accountable,' Armstrong's statement read. 'Anyone who views this kind of shortsighted, disgusting and illegal activity as acceptable has no place at Cal Poly and will be rooted out.' Armstrong asked anyone with information related to the incident, including the identities of those responsible, photos, videos or otherwise, to contact the Cal Poly police at 805-756-2281.
