Colorado live: Suspected petrol bomb attacker 'had no regrets', say officials

Sky News

5 days ago

Suspect 'said he had no regrets'
Acting US attorney J Bishop Grewell says that Soliman stated that he had been planning this attack for a year.
"He acted because he hated what he called the Zionist group," he says.
The charges allege that what he did was to throw Molotov cocktails at a group of men and women, Grewell says.
He adds: "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.
"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."
Police holding news conference
Acting US attorney J Bishop Grewell for the district of Colorado has begun the news conference and starts by "expressing his heartbreak" over the attack yesterday.
He says his office "are taking action" and thanks the first responders who worked to "quickly end the attack".
"My office has charged Mohamed Soliman with the commission of a hate crime," he says.
"When that offence includes attempted murder, the statutory maximum federal sentence is life in prison.
"No one should ever be subjected to violence of any kind but our laws recognise that such violence is particularly pernicious when someone is targeted because of their race, their religion or their national origin."
Colorado charges Soliman with eight counts of first-degree murder
The state of Colorado has charged Mohamed Soliman with eight counts of first-degree murder, our partner NBC News is reporting.
In the state of Colorado, death is not required for there to be a murder charge.
Rubio says all terrorists will have visa revoked
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said shared a few comments this evening on the Colorado attack.
Here is what he has said on X...
FBI and federal officials to hold news conference
At around 9.30pm UK time, state and federal officials will hold a news conference to announce state and federal charges against Mohamed Soliman.
The Boulder District Attorney's Office and the police department will join the FBI for the joint conference.
Here are the people we are expecting to hear from: Acting US attorney J Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado
Special agent in charge Mark Michalek for FBI Denver
The 20th judicial district attorney Michael Dougherty
Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn
We'll bring you the latest in our live coverage.
Colorado suspect 'had 14 unlit Molotov cocktails'
Mohamed Soliman told investigators that he looked up videos on how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube and purchased the items he needed to make them, our partner network NBC News reports.
The suspect, who is accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at a group of people while yelling "Free Palestine!", also told police that he had planned the attack for a year, it is alleged.
According to a police report seen by NBC News, a black plastic container with a yellow top was found near where Soliman was arrested.
Inside it was at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails.
The report also says that Soliman allegedly told investigators that he "wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead".
"Soliman stated that he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine," a police complaint seen by NBC reads.
He also stated "he would do it again".
Soliman had expired visa
Following Soliman's arrest, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, said he had entered the US in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023.
"The Colorado terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country," she said in a post on X.
"He filed for asylum in September 2022."
McLaughlin told Sky's partner network NBC News the suspect's asylum claim was pending at the time of the attack.
Watch: Moment Colorado suspect is arrested
On Sunday, the man accused of using a makeshift flamethrower to attack a US group bringing attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza was charged with a federal hate crime.
Mohamed Soliman told police he had planned it for a year and targeted what he described as the "Zionist group", the FBI said.
Witnesses reported the man allegedly shouted "Free Palestine" during the attack.
The clip below shows the moment Soliman was arrested...
Suspect to appear in court later tonight
Mohamed Soliman is set to appear in court later tonight.
Before that, state and federal officials will hold a news conference at around 9.30pm UK time to announce state and federal charges against him.
We'll bring you the latest as we get them.
What happened during the Colorado attack?
Police chief Steve Redfearn said the attack happened at around 1.26pm on Sunday and that initial reports were that "people were being set on fire".
Boulder's police chief said the attack happened as a "group of pro-Israel people" were peacefully demonstrating.
The walk is held regularly by a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the hostages who remain in Gaza.
An initial review of Mohamed Soliman's possible social media accounts has not answered questions about a motive or pointed to any particular ideology, two senior law enforcement officials said.
Video from the scene showed a bare-chested man shouting and clutching two bottles after the attack.
Other footage showed him being held down and arrested by police as people doused one of the victims with water.
Nearby there appeared to be a large black burn mark on the ground.
A large part of downtown Boulder was cordoned off as sniffer dogs and the bomb squad searched for potential devices.
Four women and four men aged between 52 and 88 were injured and taken to hospitals, Boulder police said.
The force said the injuries ranged from "very serious" to "more minor".
Some of the victims were airlifted to hospital.