Who is Mohamed Sabry Soliman? What we know about the suspect in the Boulder Colorado attack
SICK ATTACK Who is Mohamed Sabry Soliman? What we know about the suspect in the Boulder Colorado attack
THE shirtless 'terrorist' armed with a flamethrower and firebombs who attacked a rally in Boulder, Colorado, has been named as Mohamed Sabry Soliman.
Soliman has been arrested and charged with 16 counts of attempted murder — here's everything we know about him.
Advertisement
3
Mohamed Sabry Soliman is the suspect in the flamethrower and firebomb attack on a rally in Boulder, Colorado
Credit: Alamy
3
Soliman was arrested at the scene
Credit: x/@ShirionOrg
Who is Mohamed Sabry Soliman?
Mohamed Sabry Soliman was named as the suspect after he targeted the Run for Their Lives march — calling for the release of all of the Israeli hostages — with a flamethrower and firebombs.
Around 30 demonstrators had gathered and a total of 12 people were injured in the attack, with four women and four men aged 52 to 88 taken to hospital — including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor — but there were no deaths.
Soliman was wearing a bulletproof vest, but took his shirt after he appeared to set himself on fire.
Video from the scene showed him shirtless while holding two clear bottles containing a clear liquid while he yelled at onlookers.
Advertisement
Soliman later admitted that he planned the attack for a year, wanting to target what he called a "Zionist group," said the FBI.
Those wounded's conditions range from "minor" to "very serious," with at least one of the victims in critical condition.
'Free Palestine'
The suspect was heard yelling "Free Palestine" during the attack, according to FBI's special agent Mark Michalek.
As of June 3, 2025, Soliman has been charged in Colorado state court with 16 counts of first-degree attempted murder, while at state level he has been federally charged with a hate crime.
Advertisement
Federal officials said that the Egyptian national illegally overstayed his visa before being issued a new work permit in the US.
Soliman first arrived in the US in August 2022 with a non-immigrant visa before being authorised to stay through to February 2023, but didn't leave, per Fox News.
In September 2022, he filed a claim with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, granting him work authorisation in March 2023, which remained valid through March 2025.
Soliman was also injured during the attack and taken to hospital for treatment, but authorities didn't elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
Advertisement
Soliman was described as an "illegal alien" by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
3
Mohamed Sabry Soliman has been federally charged with a hate crime
Credit: instagram/@sebastian_gorka
Miller also wrote on X: "The Biden Admin granted the alien a visa and then, when he illegally overstayed, they gave him a work permit.
"Immigration security is national security.
Advertisement
"No more hostile migration. Keep them out and send them back."
Family & work
According to the NY Times, Soliman is married with five children.
He lived in Colorado Springs and reportedly worked for a ride share service.
Before carrying out the attack, Soliman said he left an iPhone with messages for his family and a journal hidden in a desk drawer, the affidavit revealed.
Advertisement
The contents of the notes to his family are unknown as of June 3, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Channel 4
18 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Helping starving Gazans from 3,000 miles away in Manchester
Ghassan was sitting in his Manchester room when we arrived to meet him. He was answering phone calls from his team trying to work out how many families they could feed – 3,000 miles away in Gaza. Ghassan Ghaben, who is Palestinian and was born in Gaza, is the co-founder of Reviving Gaza, a mutual aid group set up to help displaced Palestinian families. He runs the group with his sister Amal, who's now based in Egypt, and a network of volunteers inside the strip. At first, their focus was on helping people survive the bombardment or displacement. But now, they're are simply trying to feed as many people as possible. In March, Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza. By May, some aid resumed but under new restrictions. The UN has since warned that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently unfolding in the Gaza Strip. Starvation is spreading and children under five are dying from hunger-related causes. Ghassan says: 'The Israelis don't wany any organisations working efficiently in Gaza and distributing food the way it should be distributed. They want chaos. Those big organisations are not able to do any work but for us it's different. We have the people from there and they have the contacts.' 'The Israelis don't wany any organisations working efficiently in Gaza and distributing food the way it should be distributed. They want chaos.' – Ghassan Ghaben The Israeli authorities deny they are blocking the flow of aid and say the UN are failing to distribute it. They also accuse Hamas of stealing it, but internal US government analysis also found no evidence of systematic theft of US-funded aid. But since May, the main way to get aid has been at the controversial US-Israel backed GHF sites. Not everyone is able to access aid distribution sites and prices have skyrocketed in Gaza's markets. So the Reviving Gaza team are stepping in, using money raised from donations to buy food that is too expensive for most Gazans – and then distributing it more evenly. Amal says they're focused on helping the most vulnerable 'orphans, mothers alone, and the elderly', those who have no way of accessing food. But with limited access to food and funds, they can only feed families day by day. Later in the afternoon, Ghassan calls Ola, one of the team's volunteers in Gaza. The 20 year old smiles as Ghassan calls but her smile hides the risks of the job. At least three Reviving Gaza volunteers have been killed, among them Frans Al Salmi – a talented artist and life-long friend of Amal's who was in charge of aid distribution in the north. 'I know she's not with me now but her soul is with me always. I open her messages everyday.' For Amal, Frans's legacy is about Gazans helping each other survive; one day at a time. Only 14 per cent of aid needed has entered Gaza since May, Israeli data shows 'Skin on top of bones': Gaza aid coming in, but not enough Should Israel be held accountable for Gaza aid queue deaths?
Channel 4
18 minutes ago
- Channel 4
UN condemns Israel's targeted attack killing six Gaza journalists
Outrage has been growing around the world over the six journalists killed in a targeted attack by Israeli forces in Gaza – as Al Jazeera, which employed five of the men, condemned what they called 'a desperate attempt to silence voices'. The UN chief led calls for an independent and impartial investigation into the killings.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Killing of Al Jazeera staff in Gaza ‘silencing journalistic voices'
Prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, 28 and four of his colleagues were killed while sheltering outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night. Another reporter was also killed in the Israeli airstrike. The National Union of Journalists is to hold a protest at the Spire in Dublin on Monday evening to condemn the killing of reporters and camera operators in Gaza by Israel. Ireland's deputy premier and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris said he is to engage with his EU counterparts in relation to Gaza on Monday. 'Can I say firstly, just to extend the sympathy and solidarity of the people of Ireland with Al Jazeera and the journalists – the five staff members of Al Jazeera and the one other reporter – who have been killed in a horrifying attack in Gaza,' he said speaking outside Government Buildings on Monday. 'In many ways, it is the silencing of some of the few journalistic voices left in Gaza. 'Of course, any attack on any civilian – including, of course, any attack on any journalist – should always be absolutely condemned for what it is. 'At a time when the people of Gaza desperately need to see a ceasefire, an end to the violence, a surge in humanitarian aid, and of course, the release of the hostages, all of the indications from (Israeli President Benjamin) Netanyahu is of an Israeli government intended to go in the complete opposite direction to that. 'I do think it is interesting in recent days to have seen an increase in protest within Israel, Israeli people standing up and saying to their government 'not in my name'. 'Israeli people wanting to live in peace and security as well, alongside the Palestinian people and, of course, Israeli people rightly wanting hostages released immediately too.'
