Boulder, Colorado, suspect facing 16 counts of attempted murder, federal hate crime charges; 12 victims total, police say
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in Sunday's attack in Boulder, Colorado, where 12 people were injured at a rally calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, is now facing 16 counts of attempted murder, as well as federal hate crimes charges.
Soliman, 45, is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at members of the group Run for Their Lives on Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder on Sunday afternoon. Police say at least 12 people suffered burn injuries and three were taken to UCHealth's burn unit at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said on Monday afternoon that Soliman will be charged in state court with 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight of which are "with intent and deliberation," the other eight of which are "with extreme indifference." If convicted on all charges, he would face a maximum of 384 years in state prison.
He's also set to be charged with two counts of use of an incendiary device, which carries a maximum sentence of 48 years, and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device, which carries a maximum sentence of 192 years.
He also said four additional victims were identified on Monday, after five, then six, and then eight victims were initially identified. The latest victims weren't known to police at first, because the injuries were minor, according to Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn.
"The additional victims that we learned of today, the reason we didn't know about them until today was their injuries, thankfully, were more minor in nature," he said at a news conference on Monday. "They've come forward to be interviewed and things and we realized that they did have injuries so we're counting everyone who received any sort of injury in this attack in that number."
Asked by reporters if Soliman was on law enforcement's radar prior to Sunday, Redfearn said Boulder police were not aware of him and Mike Michalek, FBI special agent in charge of the Denver field office, said the same.
FBI Special Agent Jessica Krueger wrote in a federal probable cause affidavit that Soliman committed a hate crime "by throwing Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd while yelling "Free Palestine" and injuring eight individuals."
The Department of Homeland Security says Soliman is an Egyptian national who entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a B2 non-immigrant tourism visa, applied for asylum the following month, and continued living in the country after his visa expired in February 2023. The FBI says he's been living in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children. Agents searched his home Monday morning.
The group, Run for Their Lives, has walked on the Pearl Street Mall once a week every week since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel. Group members call for the release of the Israeli hostages taken into Gaza.
On Sunday, investigators say Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails -- glass bottles or jars with red rags hanging out filled with gasoline -- at participants. They said they found a plastic container with over a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails, a car belonging to Soliman with more red rags, a red gas container, and paperwork with the words "Israel," "Palestine," and "USAID," according to the affidavit.
"There were 16 unused Molotov cocktails that were recovered by law enforcement in the hours after the incident took place," Dougherty said at the news conference.
Investigators also say they found a backpack weed sprayer filled with 87 octane gasoline.
After the attack, Soliman was taken into custody by Boulder police officers without incident, according to Redfearn and witnesses' video.
The FBI says they interviewed Soliman after he was taken into custody. He allegedly admitted to learning how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube, making them, and targeting the gathering.
"He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," according to the affidavit. "He specifically targeted the 'Zionist Group' that had gathered in Boulder having learned about the group from an online search."
"Throughout the interview, 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," the affidavit continued. "He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack."
He told investigators that he left a phone in a desk drawer at home with messages to his family, as well as a journal, the FBI said.
After he was arrested, his wife took her husband's iPhone to the Colorado Springs Police Department. Michalek said the family has been cooperative in the investigation so far but couldn't speak to their immigration status and referred questions to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In a video that has since been widely circulated on social media, the FBI, said Soliman is seen in the video saying "how many children killed" and "end Zionist."
Federal investigators believe the bottles and gasoline used in the attack were manufactured in another state.
J. Bishop Grewell, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, said in addition to the two federal hate crime charges -- which each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison -- additional federal charges might be forthcoming.
Soliman appeared in Boulder County Court Monday afternoon, represented by the Public Defender's Office. He's being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million cash-only bond. His attorney did not ask for an adjustment to the amount or conditions of bond. He's due back in court at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday for a formal filing of charges.
He has not retained or been assigned an attorney in federal court as of Monday afternoon.
You can read the full affidavit here: