Latest news with #flamethrower
CBS News
22-07-2025
- CBS News
Maryland man sentenced after burning neighborhood street with flamethrower
A Maryland man has been sentenced to one year of community service and 60 hours of probation after burning a neighborhood street with a flamethrower last year. Prosecutors said Craig McQuin posted a video of himself using the flamethrower to burn the words "Trump" and "USA" into the ground. On Nov. 15, 2024, arson investigators responded to Hickory Hollow Drive in Glen Burnie to assist Anne Arundel County Police with a report of property destruction. When they arrived, they saw the words "TRUMP" and "USA" burned into the middle of a public road maintained by the Creekside Village Homeowner Association, officials said. After an investigation, police found a TikTok video showing a man later identified as McQuin using the flamethrower to ignite the two words, which had been spelled out on the asphalt with a flammable liquid. McQuin was charged with second-degree malicious burning, destruction of property (greater than $1,000), and possession of a destructive device. "Though his actions were reckless and damaged community property, I appreciate that the defendant has accepted full responsibility for what he did. In addition to forfeiting the flamethrower, he has paid $5,500 restitution and must complete an additional sixty hours of community service as part of his sentence," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a statement.
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Boulder terror suspect's Muslim wife says she's 'struggling to preserve her modesty' at ICE detention facility
The wife of an Egyptian migrant accused of murdering an elderly Jewish woman with a flamethrower at a Colorado protest has said she is struggling with 'preserving her modesty' in ICE custody. Hayal El Gamal and her five children are being held inside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, 73 miles southwest of San Antonio. El Gamal and her kids, aged 18, 15, 7 and two four-year-olds, were detained after her husband Mohamad Soliman was arrested for allegedly firebombing a Colorado demonstration honoring the October 7 victims on June 1. Karen Diamond, 82, died Monday, with Soliman now charged with her murder. A dozen people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured in the attack, which federal prosecutors believe Soliman planned out over the course of a year - driven by his anger toward Israel and his animosity toward 'Zionists.' The family have not been accused of helping Soliman carrying out the alleged offense. He told authorities he planned and executed the attack on his own accord, according to court documents seen by KSAT. In a lawsuit, also seen by the outlet, seeking their release and due process, El Gamal said her children's experience at the facility was 'traumatic'. The suit adds that she has had trouble sleeping and issues with preserving her modesty in observance of her Islamic faith. No further details on the modesty issues were shared and no pictures of El Gamal are available. The family had entered the US on B1 visitor visas in 2022 and are seeking asylum, their attorney Eric Lee said. At the time of their detention they had pending asylum applications with a formal decision still pending, he added. The lawsuit says they are being detained as a 'punishment' for Soliman's actions, alleging their Fifth Amendment rights have been violated. The suit asks that ICE are prohibited from deporting them while their asylum case is still pending and that they be released from custody. It is also calling for the courts to prevent them from being transferred out of the Western District of Texas, and to declare their detention illegal. She said in the suit that she stayed at a hotel in Colorado Springs for two nights while the authorities raided her home. They were then told by Homeland Security agents that they needed to be moved as their current situation was 'unsafe', she added. El Gamal went with the agents after believing they were trying to help her and her family, she added. They were then taken to an immigration facility in Colorado, before being flown to San Antonio on June 3 and taken to the center in Dilley. As they arrived at the facility, The White House X page had posted on X that the family would be scheduled for 'expedited removal'. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Soliman's tourist visa had expired in 2023. He had filed for asylum and was given a grant for work authorization in March of 2023. It had expired prior to his alleged attack. Soliman is facing an extra two murder charges after Diamond's death was announced on Monday. He has also been charged with an additional 66 counts in relation to 14 new victims identified through the ongoing investigation. According to his arrest affidavit, Soliman had been planning the attack for a year - waiting for his teenage daughter to graduate from high school before executing it. She graduated just days before he launched the attack with homemade flamethrowers on a Run For Their Lives event on Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall. In a statement earlier this month, El Gamal Gamal insisted she and her children had no idea what her husband was reportedly planning as she begged Americans to push for her and her family's release. 'My children and I are in total shock over what they say my husband did in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month,' she said in the statement released by her Michigan-based immigration attorney, Eric Lee. 'So many lives were ruined that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people,' El Gamal said from the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas. 'We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.' Her eldest daughter, Habiba Soliman, has since turned 18 at the ICE detention center, while her seven year old and 15 year old also have upcoming birthdays.
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestinian activist charged with killing 82-year-old woman in firebomb attack
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. He is said to have shouted 'free Palestine' during the attack. Investigators believe he had stopped at gas stations before the attack to fill up Molotov cocktails and the makeshift flamethrower. He told investigators he had been planning the attack for a year but was waiting until his daughter graduated, according to an FBI affidavit. Leaders of the Boulder Jewish Community Centre announced in an email on Monday that Diamond had died on June 25, and said she will be deeply missed 'Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her,' executive director Jonathan Lev and board chairman David Paul said. 'Karen taken from us too soon' Governor Jared Polis said that he was devastated by Diamond's death, and that it will be felt deeply by the city of Boulder, the state and the Jewish community. 'Karen was taken from us too soon, and we mourn her loss while remembering her life and the impact she had on those who loved her,' Mr Polis said. Prosecutors said Diamond's family has asked for privacy as they grieve. 'Part of what makes Colorado special is that people come together in response to a tragedy; I know that the community will continue to unite in supporting the Diamond family and all the victims of this attack,' District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in the statement. Mr Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a 'legal citizen'.
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Wife of Colorado terror suspect makes desperate plea from ICE detention
The wife of an Egyptian national accused of hurling makeshift flamethrowers at pro-Israel protesters has issued a desperate plea from an ICE facility where she and her five children are being held. Hayam El Gamal, 43, and her children were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on June 3 - just days after her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, allegedly attacked a demonstration honoring the October 7 victims who are still being held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza. A dozen people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured in the attack, which federal prosecutors believe Soliman planned out over the course of a year - driven by his anger toward Israel and his animosity toward 'Zionists.' The terror suspect is now facing 118 state charges, including attempted murder, as well as a federal hate crime charge for the assault. In a statement on Wednesday, El Gamal insisted she and her children had no idea what her husband was reportedly planning as she begged Americans to push for her and her family's release. 'My children and I are in total shock over what they say my husband did in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month,' she said in the statement released by her Michigan-based immigration attorney, Eric Lee. 'So many lives were ruined that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people,' El Gamal said from the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas. 'We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.' She then went on to question why she and her children are being punished for the actions of her husband and their father. 'Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?' El Gamal said, noting that on the night of June 3 she and her five children were put on a flight and transferred to Colorado to the Texas-based facility. Her eldest daughter, Habiba Soliman, has since turned 18 at the ICE detention center, while her seven year old and 15 year old also have upcoming birthdays. At the detention center, El Gamal said the family is 'treated like animals by the officers who told us we are going to be punished for what my husband is accused of doing,' and claimed that her youngest children were 'forced to watch officials rough up' another detainee. 'They cried and cried, thinking they would be roughed up, too.' She also claimed that the conditions at the Dilley Family Detention Center are inhumane, and detainees are always being watched and woken up in the middle of the night. Now, the mother-of-five says all her children want 'is to be home, to be in school, to have privacy, to sleep in their own beds, to have their mother make them a home cooked meal, to help them grieve and get through these terrible weeks.' 'But instead, we are here, in jail in Texas, where you can't be human,' El Gamal said. She also claimed she and her family have 'tried to do everything right' since they arrived in the United States on a visa in August 2022, noting that they learned English, found work and were good neighbors 'cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish. 'I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that's enough,' El Gamal continued, arguing she just wants 'to give my children good lives. 'It has been two weeks in jail, how much longer will we be here for something we didn't do? How much longer until the damage to my children is irreversible?' she said. 'It has been so hard for me to stay strong for my kids. I'm so tired. 'I ask the American people, with all my heart, to please listen to our story and help us,' she pleaded. Meanwhile, her attorney is fighting to get the family to remain in the United States - arguing that it is unclear why they are being detained. In court documents filed last week, federal prosecutors note that the family entered the United States with B1 visitor visas in 2022, which are meant to be used for business purposes, such as conferences, according to KDVR. Soliman then filed for asylum on September 29, 2022, listing his wife and five children as dependents - and he was granted a work authorization in March 2023. That asylum claim is still pending, according to a petition provided to a federal judge last week, which also noted that El Gamal is a network engineer with a pending EB2 visa - which is given to professionals with advanced degrees. But Lee argued to CNN, 'The issue here is whether they can be detained when the government has explicitly stated that its reason for detaining them is not because of their visa stays, but is because of their relationship to their husband/father.' In fact, the family had been set for expedited removal following Soliman's attack, which would allow immigration officials to remove them without a hearing before an immigration judge. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted at the time that her agency was 'investigating to what extent [Soliman's] family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.' However, El Gamal has not been charged with any wrongdoing, Lee notes. 'The government can't detain individuals for unlawful purposes,' he said, as a federal judge approved his request to extend a temporary restraining order issued by a different judge on June 4. Biden-appointed US District Court Judge Gordon Gallagher ruled at the time that deporting them without adequate process could cause 'irreparable harm.' The order has now been extended for another 14 days, during which the family is expected to have an immigration hearing. has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment. My name is Hayam El Gamal. My five children and I are in total shock over what they say my husband did in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month. So many lives were ruined on that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack. My kids and I were arrested by ICE on June 3, put on a flight to Texas in the middle of the night and have now been in an immigration jail in Texas for two weeks. This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail. We are grieving, and we are suffering. We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing. But why punish me? Why punish my four-year-old children? Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong? Since coming to America three years ago, we have tried to do everything right. We got work permits. We learned English. My daughter and I volunteered teaching English to other immigrants, to help them become more comfortable in America. We have always tried to be good neighbors, cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish. I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that's enough. All I want is to give my children good lives. My oldest daughter volunteered at a hospital; she has a 4.5 GPA and wants to become a doctor, to help people in this country. My kids want to go to school, they want to see their friends and deal with their grief from recent weeks. But here they can't sleep. They cry throughout the day, asking me, 'When will we get to go home?' When we were first detained, my children were forced to watch officials rough-up another detainee, and they cried and cried, thinking they would be roughed-up, too. Now my seven-year-old is about to have her birthday in jail, and my fifteen-year-old, too. All they want is to be home, to be in school, to have privacy, to sleep in their own beds, to have their mother make them a home-cooked meal, to help them grieve and get through these terrible weeks. But instead, we are here, in jail in Texas, where you can't be human. Where you are always being watched. Where you are woken up in the middle of the night by guards and given food fit for animals. Only mothers can truly understand what we are going through. I did everything for my kids. It has been two weeks in jail, how much longer will we be here for something we didn't do? How much longer until the damage to my children is irreversible? It has been so hard for me to stay strong for my kids. I'm so tired. I ask the American people, with all my heart, to please listen to our story and help us.
New York Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
How ‘Ballerina' Set People on Fire
When Chad Stahelski, best known as the driving force behind the 'John Wick' franchise, was in high school he volunteered with his local fire department. Over the years the images from that experience stuck in his head, and the former stuntman started to dream up an action sequence involving lots and lots of fire. 'I'm like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if I combined fire and water, and we had a flamethrower fight?' Stahelski, a producer of 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,' said in a video interview. 'Two guys with flamethrowers and they are going to shoot each other.' Watching an early cut of 'Ballerina' he realized he had the ideal vehicle for his fire dreams: It would be a showstopper for the star assassin, Eve, played by Ana de Armas. 'How do I make her look smart? How do I make her look badass? It wasn't about fighting more guys,' he said. 'It's like, OK, let's give her something that really shows a skill set. And that's when we went to fire.' The result is a bravura third-act set piece in which Eve torches her enemies in an Alpine village, going flamethrower to flamethrower with a massive villainous henchman named Dex (Robert Maaser). Instead of using digital flames, 'Ballerina,' directed by Len Wiseman, mostly went for the real thing. According to Stahelski, 90 to 95 percent of the fires onscreen are 'unenhanced real burns.' To accomplish this, Stahelski called in an expert in the world of movie fire, the stuntman Jayson Dumenigo, who developed a long-lasting protective burn gel for stunt performers that recently won him an honor from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Even Dumenigo was skeptical they could accomplish what Stahelski had in mind when he first heard the pitch. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
