An Egyptian national who came into the country two years ago and overstayed his visa has been charged in the gruesome terror attack that left six people injured in Boulder, Colorado, Saturday, authorities said.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested at the scene, after he allegedly set his victims on fire as they peacefully rallied on behalf of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Soliman was heard yelling “Free Palestine” and other anti-Israel slogans during the attack on victims ranging in age from 67 to 88. Online records show Soliman has been booked into the Boulder County Jail.
The shocking violence unfolded at 1:26 p.m. local time, when Boulder police were called to the county courthouse on Pearl Street for reports of a man who had a weapon and was setting people on fire, according to Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn.
The attack took place near an event put on by “Run for Their Lives,” a grassroots group that organizes run and walk events calling for the release of Israeli hostages held since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
“Run for Their Lives is an apolitical global organization with the sole mission of walking peacefully to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza,” the group said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Run for Their Lives said it has been holding events every week since Oct. 15, 2023 “without any violent incidents until today.” It called the plight of the remaining hostages an “international humanitarian crisis” and said there is a “collective responsibility to release them all.”
“We call on world leaders to do everything they can to ensure the swift return home of each of the 58 hostages. Run for Their Lives remains committed to our mission until ALL the HOSTAGES are returned back home!” the organization said.
The suspect was heard yelling, “How many children you killed?” and “We have to end Zionists, they are killers,” according to an analysis of video of the scene by the ADL Center on Extremism.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the attack, which happened on the eve of Shavuot, appears to have been motivated by hate.
“From what we know, this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted,” Weiser wrote in a statement. “People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the attack is being investigated as an act of “ideologically motivated violence,” based on early information, evidence and witness accounts.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed the National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground.
Later Sunday, FBI Denver said agents were at a location in El Paso County, Colorado conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”
Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources told Fox News Soliman is in the country illegally as a visa over-stay, who came in during the Biden administration.
He allegedly flew into the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2022, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa. Soliman was authorized to stay through Feb. 26, 2023, but never left, according to officials. On Sept. 29, 2022, he filed a claim, possibly for asylum.
On March 29, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Biden administration, gave him work authorization, which was valid through March of this year.
Police initially evacuated three surrounding blocks and later expanded the evacuation area.
Redfearn said Sunday evening that the area was not safe yet, as they are investigating a “vehicle of interest.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in a statement described the attack as a “heinous act of terror.”
“I am closely monitoring the situation in Boulder, and my thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror,” Polis wrote. “Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation.”
Weiser and Polis were the first two Jewish men elected to statewide office in Colorado in 2018.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio,in a post to X, said “terror has no place in our great country.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said terrorism against Jews “does not stop at the Gaza border – it is already burning the streets of America.”
“Today, in Boulder, Colorado, Jewish people marched with a moral and humane demand: to return the hostages,” Danon wrote in a statement. “In response, the Jewish protesters were brutally attacked, with an attacker throwing a Molotov cocktails at them. Make no mistake – this is not a political protest, this is terrorism. The time for statements is over. It is time for concrete action to be taken against the instigators wherever they may be.”
Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse added he is “praying hard for the victims.”
“The scourge of anti-semitism has metastasized across our country,” Neguse wrote on X. “We must do more—now—to stop this violence. Tonight, on the eve of Shavuot, and always, we stand with our Jewish community.”
The New York City Police Department said on Sunday night it is increasing the number of officers at religious sites for Shavuot.
“We’re monitoring the horrific attack in Colorado targeting an event for Israeli hostages,” officials said. “The NYPD has already increased our presence at religious sites throughout NYC for Shavuot with high visibility patrols and heavy weapons teams. We’ll continue to track this closely.”
Run for Their lives meets weekly in neighborhoods across the world to “quietly” address Hamas hostages, according to its website. It was started by a group of Israelis in the Bay Area in California.
The attack comes less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down on May 21 in Washington, D.C.
“Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism,” said Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk. “The nonstop demonization of Israel and Zionism on our campuses, in our streets, and across digital platforms has created a climate where hate flourishes, and physical attacks—even murder—of Jews is inevitable.”
