17 hours ago
EXCLUSIVE Colorado terrorist could face more charges, Boulder District Attorney says in update on vile 'anti-Zionist' attack
Boulder authorities have not ruled out further charges or victims in the terror attack last weekend on the city's famed pedestrian mall, District Attorney Michael Dougherty told the Daily Mail on Friday.
Three victims, meanwhile, remain in the hospital, he told the Mail in an exclusive interview.
His office filed 118 charges Thursday against suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, who allegedly drove 100 miles north on June 1 from his home in Colorado Springs to carry out the attack on a gathering in support of hostages being held by Hamas.
Soliman told authorities he wanted to kill Zionists and had searched for meetings of Jewish groups before zeroing in on Run For Their Lives, which gathers weekly in Boulder.
Shirtless, he launched homemade Molotov cocktails at the group around 1.30pm, injuring at least 15 people and a dog.
While some victims were immediately obviously wounded, cared for by emergency services at the scene and transported to the hospital,leading to an initial count of six, the number kept growing and could continuem Dougherty said.
'As the day went on and as the days have gone on since, we've identified more people who were injured but did not require hospitalization, or who were not injured but were close enough to be classified as victims of attempted murder,' he said.
The 118 charges include multiple counts of attempted murder, assault, illegal use of incendiary devices and cruelty to animals. For each one of the attempted murder victims, there are two counts.
'There are two different theories under which we can prosecute attempted murder in the state of Colorado,' Dougherty said. 'One is with intent, which is what it sounds like this is.
'The other is with extreme indifference, which means someone's acting with universal malice and creates a great risk of death to others.'
Soliman is being prosecuted for both. He has also been charged with a federal hate crime.
'If additional victims come forward, we would file additional charges,' Dougherty said. 'The charges we were able to put together in a rahter short period of time were based on the extensive investigation by law enforcement.'
Soliman is currently being held in Boulder County Jail on $10million bond.
Dougherty said he'd been on his way to give a speech about hate crimes prevention on Sunday when he got the call about the attack. He made a U-turn and headed back to Boulder.
Just last year, he'd prosecuted the trial in the 2021 King Soopers Boulder shooting, in which ten people were killed.
'I'm really worried about our community,' he said. 'It's a strong and resilient community. We've come together in response to fires, floods and mass attacks before, but ... I see the amount of fear and anger all swirling around right now.
'And I just would ask and encourage people to comfort one another, support one another and come out in solidarity together for this great community.'
Boulder's Jewish Festival takes place on Sunday, exactly one week after the attack on the city's close-knit community.
Authorities said in a press conference Thursday that there would be a large security presence, including drones, SWAT 'elements' and plainclothes officers.
Dougherty said he'd attended the event every year since 2018 and hoped 'community members turn out to show support and love for one another and also for the Jewish community that's been so deeply impacted.'
He said there would actually be a 'DA booth' at the festival this year, which was 'all lined up' before the attack.
'I think our presence there now will be particularly important,' he said. 'So we'll be there on Sunday, our team.'
He said prosecutors and investigators continued to work 'many hours into the night' on the case against Soliman, whom he reiterated was innocent until proven guilty.
Dougherty added that mental health counselors were available for members of his office.
'The attack happened just a few blocks from where we sit now,' he said. 'It's part of our community.
'If you're going to fight for justice in a case like this, you need a team and an office that has good mental and emotional health for themselves, as well.
'We're encouraging victims and witnesses to come forward,' he said. 'We have a significant amount of evidence to still go through to see if there are other victims that were present who should be accounted for.'
And I would encourage people to contact law enforcement if they believe they were a victim – and certainly if they're a witness. To hear from them would be fantastic.'
