3 days ago
‘Illegal migrant' arrested in pro-Israel rally attack burnt his own face
An 'illegal immigrant' set himself on fire as he sprayed a makeshift flamethrower at pro-Israel protesters during an alleged terror attack.
A mugshot released of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, appeared to show burns to his face while his ear was heavily bandaged after the attack that injured eight people.
As details of his plot emerged on Monday, the Egyptian national is said to have turned a garden weed sprayer into a makeshift flamethrower by spraying gasoline in the direction of the marchers while holding a lighter in front of the stream of fuel.
Investigators believe he had stopped at gas stations before the attack to fill up molotov cocktails and the makeshift flamethrower.
Police found 14 more molotovs in the Pearl Street area, where he was detained. Officials believe he may have spent a year planning the attack.
Credit: X
The FBI said it was investigating the firebombing as terrorism, while the White House said on Sunday that the suspect was living in the country illegally and was granted a work permit by Joe Biden's administration.
'Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,' Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!'
'A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien,' Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said.
'He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden administration, and then he illegally overstayed that visa. In response, the Biden administration gave him a work permit.'
At least eight people, aged between 67 and 88, were injured in the attack at the busy Pearl Street Mall area at about 1.30pm local time (7.30pm GMT).
Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado, told reporters that one of the victims was understood to be an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Mr Soliman was being held on Monday on an array of charges, including assault and the use of explosives, in lieu of a $10-million bail, according to Boulder County records.
He was also charged with a 'hate crime involving actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin,' according to an affidavit.
Video of the aftermath of the attack showed Mr Soliman, wearing sunglasses and holding clear spray bottles, pacing as a fire on the grass burned in front of him.
He shouted 'end Zionists', 'Palestine is free', and 'they are killers' towards several people as they tended to a person lying on the ground.
At one point, he was confronted by onlookers, including one who said: 'He is spraying alcohol... he is making Molotov cocktails.'
Other videos showed victims lying motionless on the ground as bystanders rushed to douse them with water.
Credit: X via @MissNUndrground
Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old student at the University of Colorado, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs.
She said one woman appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone.
'Everybody [was] yelling, 'get water, get water',' she said.
Steve Redfearn, Boulder's police chief, said officers raced to the scene after receiving reports that people had been set on fire.
'The initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire,' he said.
'When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims who were injured with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.'
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