Colorado terror suspect told police he 'planned attack on Zionists'

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

A man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel group in Colorado had planned the alleged terror attack for more than a year and has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, targeted what he described as a "Zionist group" gathering in a popular pedestrian mall in the city of Boulder on Sunday local time, the court papers say.
Witnesses and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Mr Soliman yelled "Free Palestine" and used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices during the attack, injuring at least eight people.
An FBI affidavit shows that police found at least 14 more unlit Molotov cocktails at the scene.
The alleged terror attack has since drawn the condemnation of US President Donald Trump, who described the incident as "horrific".
"Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America," the president said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
"He came in through Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly. He must go out under 'TRUMP' Policy.
"Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law."
The FBI affidavit says Mr Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody, said that he "wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead", and told the police he would do it again.
The Molotov cocktails were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of them, the FBI said.
Inside Mr Soliman's car, law enforcement found papers with the words "Israel", "Palestine" and "USAID", according to the FBI affidavit.
Mr Soliman told investigators he constructed homemade Molotov cocktails after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients.
"This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts," FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
The FBI said it believed Mr Soliman acted alone, and was also injured in the attack before he was taken to hospital.
Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but an image taken of him while in custody showed him with a large bandage over one ear.
The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street mall unfolded against the backdrop of a war between Israel and Hamas that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States.
The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which is marked with the reading of the Torah and barely a week after a man who also yelled "Free Palestine" was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.
US Attorney-General Pam Bondi said in a statement that Mr Soliman will be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law".
"We will never tolerate this kind of hatred," she said.
Mr Soliman was living in the US illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X.
Ms McLaughlin said Mr Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorisation in March 2023 that had expired.
Public records listed Mr Soliman as living in a rented townhouse in Colorado Springs, where local media outlets reported federal law enforcement agents were on the scene on Sunday.
Shameka Pruiett knew Mr Soliman and his family as kind neighbours with five children — three young kids and two teenagers — who would play with her children in front of their building, share food and offer hellos.
Ms Pruiett said when she saw Mr Soliman on video in Boulder, shirtless and holding bottles with flames licking up the grass in front of him, it was hard to recognise him.
Another neighbour, Kierra Johnson, who lives in the apartment next to Mr Soliman's, said she could often hear shouting at night from his apartment and once called police because of the screaming and yelling.
On Sunday, Ms Pruiett saw law enforcement vehicles waiting on the street throughout the day until the evening, when they spoke through a megaphone telling anyone in Mr Soliman's home to come out.
Nobody came out and it did not appear anyone was inside during the hours-long raid, Ms Pruiett said.
An online resume under Mr Soliman's name said he was employed by a Denver-area healthcare company working in accounting and inventory control, with prior employers listed as companies in Egypt.
Under education, the resume listed Al-Azhar University, a historic centre for Islamic and Arabic learning located in Cairo.
Mr Soliman also worked as an Uber driver and had passed the company's eligibility requirements, which include a criminal background check, according to a spokesperson for Uber.
The company has since banned Mr Soliman's account and has been in touch with law enforcement.
The eight victims who were injured in the attack range in age from 52 to 88 and their injuries spanned from serious to minor, according to officials.
Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organiser connected to the group.
Ms Kornfield said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalised caught on fire during the incident.
"The status of that victim is improving, but still not out of the woods," she said.
The attack occurred as people with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza.
Video from the scene shows a witness shouting: "He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails," as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.
Alex Osante from San Diego, California said he was having lunch on a restaurant patio across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking on the ground and a "boom" followed by people yelling and screaming.
In video of the scene captured by Mr Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Mr Osante said had caught on fire during the attack.
After the initial attack, Mr Osante said the suspect went behind some bushes and then reemerged and threw a Molotov cocktail but apparently accidentally caught himself on fire as he threw it.
Mr Soliman then took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived, he dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video filmed by Mr Osante.
Photos from the scene also showed a burning woman lying on the ground in a fetal position and a man helping to put out the flames using a jug of water.
AP