Suspect in Colorado flamethrower attack planned assault for over a year, FBI says

France 24

2 days ago

A man posing as a gardener to get close to a group in Boulder holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza planned to kill them all with Molotov cocktails, authorities said Monday.
But he had second thoughts and only threw two out of the 18 incendiary devices he had into the group of about 20 people, yelling 'Free Palestine' and accidentally burning himself, police said. Twelve people were injured in the Sunday attack. He had gas in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn't spray it on anyone but himself 'because he had planned on dying.'
'He said he had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it,' police wrote in an affidavit. He didn't carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before.'
Mohamad Sabry Soliman, 45, planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a 'Zionist group,' authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. The suspect's first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents.
'When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,' Acting US Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a press conference Monday.
Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment.
During a state court hearing Monday, Soliman appeared briefly via a video link from the Boulder County Jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Another court hearing is set for Thursday. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said.
An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel.
Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing.
Soliman was living in the U.S. 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 the social platform X.
The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war 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 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.
The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. All four of the latest victims had what police described as minor injuries.
Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire.
The volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration when video from the scene shows a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails." A police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.
Witness Alex Osante of San Diego said he was across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking and a 'boom' followed by people yelling and screaming.
In video of the scene captured by Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught on fire during the attack.
Soliman said he dressed up like gardener with an orange vest in order to get as close to the group as possible, police wrote.
Osante said that after the suspect threw the two incendiary devices, apparently catching himself on fire as he threw the second, he took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said 16 unused Molotov cocktails were recovered by law enforcement. The devices were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said.
Soliman told investigators he constructed the devices after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients.
'He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,' the affidavit says.
Soliman also told investigators he took a concealed carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he is not a legal US citizen.
Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear.
In video and photos shot right after the attack by a woman at the gathering, Soliman can be seen pacing without his shirt on with what appears to be burns down one of his arms. He and a small group of people around him are screaming at each other, with some witnesses filming him.
Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved to Colorado Springs three years ago, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait.
McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
Shameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his wife as kindly neighbors with three young kids and two teenagers who'd play with Pruiett's kids.
Another neighbor, Kierra Johnson, said she could often hear shouting at night from his apartment and once called police because of the screaming and yelling.
On Sunday, Pruiett saw law enforcement vehicles waiting on the street throughout the day until the evening, when they spoke through a megaphone telling anyone in Soliman's home to come out. Nobody came out and it did not appear anyone was inside, said Pruiett.