Bringing War to our Doorstep
Boulder Man Injures Thirteen at Pro-Israel Event
A man injured thirteen during a Run for Their Lives event in Boulder, Colorado. The attack occurred on June 1st outside the Boulder County Historic Courthouse at 1333 Pearl St. at 13:26 MDT.
Figure 1: Photo posted of suspect on X
The suspect approached the event dressed as a gardener while carrying a gasoline-filled sprayer and bottles which he ignited, creating a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails. He used two of the eighteen total incendiary devices in his possession to burn victims. Bystanders used buckets of water to put out the flames while warning others to stay away before the Boulder County Police arrived.
Figure 2: Site of Boulder Colorado attack
Police observed burn marks on the suspect’s body and transferred him to a hospital and later to Boulder County Jail. No fatalities were reported, though one victim was reported in critical condition.
Videos posted after the attack show the suspect in a verbal altercation with eventgoers, shouting phrases such as “Palestine is free,” “they are killers,” “how many children,” and “end Zionists.” The Run for Their Lives event commemorates the Israeli hostages held by Palestinian Foreign Terrorist Organization Hamas.
Suspect History
Police have identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old man from Egypt. He was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for seventeen years, and resided in Colorado Springs at the time of the attack. U.S. authorities rejected an asylum application in 2005 before granting Soliman a B2 non-immigrant visa in August 2022. He was granted work authorization in March 2023 which expired in March 2025.
Soliman faces forty-two state felony charges and a federal hate crime charge. His bond is listed as $10,000,000. Immigration agents arrested his family on immigration charges during the investigation.
He planned the attack for roughly a year, trying and failing to purchase a firearm with which to carry it out. An investigation into his internet activity revealed that he had researched how to make Molotov cocktails before carrying out the attack. He told police that he “planned on dying” after being apprehended.
Soliman’s wife turned over his phone to the authorities. The suspect followed Islamist preachers and accounts linked to the Muslim Brotherhood on his Facebook page, including some which praised Hamas. Some of his Facebook posts were critical of former Egyptian president Mohhamed Morsi. Soliman created an X account in November 2022 and followed government service accounts from Colorado Springs and Denver. He was not known to law enforcement prior to the incident.
Figure 4: Image posted by Soliman’s Facebook account on August 22nd, 2013, roughly a month after the 2013 Egyptian coup
The FBI is investigating the event as an act of terrorism. The incident remains under review for the time being and authorities have not yet charged the suspect with terrorism.