Suspect in Colorado fire attack planned for a year, FBI says

BBC News

5 days ago

A man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at people attending a march for Israeli hostages in Colorado on Sunday planned the attack for a year, investigators say.Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, who is charged with a federal hate crime as well as state charges of attempted murder, assault and use of an explosive device, made a brief appearance in court on Monday. Officials say he targeted a group of pro-Israel demonstrators at an outdoor mall in Boulder and shouted "Free Palestine" as he threw incendiary devices, injuring eight of them.At least 16 unlit Molotov cocktails were found nearby afterwards. Investigators say he targeted the group after finding them online.
The victims were a group gathered for their weekly event organised by Run for Their Lives, which raises awareness about Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.Officials say Mr Soliman threw two incendiary devices into the gathering, with eight of them suffering burns. Twelve people, including four men and four women between the ages of 52 and 88, were taken to the hospital, with injuries ranging from minor to serious.Officials previously said there were eight victims, but on Monday four more people came forward with minor injuries. The eldest of the victims is a Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the BBC's US partner CBS News.Mr Soliman appeared in court on Monday via a video feed from the Boulder County Jail for less than five minutes, standing and wearing an orange jumpsuit. He answered "yes" to some procedural questions from the judge but otherwise did not speak. The court scheduled a date for the formal filing of charges this Thursday.In an interview after his arrest, Mr Soliman told police he had been planning the attack for a year, to take place after his daughter's graduation, according to an arrest warrant affidavit from the FBI. He told police he wanted to "kill all Zionists" and would carry out the attack again, the court documents stated. In addition to the unlit Molotov cocktails, backpack weed sprayer containing octane gasoline was found nearby.
Mr Soliman said he had been watching YouTube videos on how to make Molotov cocktails, according to the affidavit. He said he found the group Run for Their Lives through an online search. He drove from his home in Colorado Springs to Boulder, arriving five minutes before their meeting and waiting for them, court documents state. Mr Soliman allegedly said he bought petrol on his way to the attack. According to the FBI, throughout the interview, Mr Soliman said he hated Zionists and targeted them because they need to stop taking over "our land", which he said was a reference to the Palestinian territories. Mr Soliman allegedly told officials he left his iPhone hidden in a desk drawer with messages to his family, wife and five children. His wife later brought the iPhone to officials, according to court documents. Law enforcement officials said on Monday there was no previous indication that the defendant was a threat. "We fully intended to hold Mr Soliman accountable for this actions, and these charges are the first step," Acting US Attorney for the District of Colorado J Bishop Grewell told a press conference on Monday. In 2022, Mr Soliman, an Egyptian national, arrived in California on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023, multiple sources have told CBS News.Homeland security officials said he filed for asylum a month after arriving, but did not provide details about the outcome of that immigration case or whether it was resolved.President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, said on X that Mr Soliman was given a work permit by the Biden administration after he had overstayed his visa.Mr Soliman was working as a food delivery driver for Uber since 2023, a company spokesperson told CBS. According to the company, when he began working for them, he met all Uber requirements, including passing a criminal and driving history background check, providing a photo ID and holding a valid Social Security number.