Boulder attack suspect charged with hate crime and attempted murder

  • 12 injured in attack on demonstration for Israeli hostages
  • Authorities identified suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman
  • Despite initial charges, police say no one has died

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(NewsNation) — The man accused of attacking a crowd of people and injuring at least 12 in Boulder, Colorado, has been charged with a federal hate crime and attempted murder, authorities announced on Monday.

An FBI affidavit said Mohammed Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he would replicate his actions again. Soliman told authorities he’d been planning the attack for a year.

“When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. “He had no regrets, and he would go back and do it again.”

Grewell added that Soliman tried to purchase a gun, but when denied, he resorted to Molotov cocktails. Sixteen unused Molotov cocktails were recovered after the attack, according to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

“This community has experienced too many tragedies,” said Dougherty. “Fires, floods, and mass attacks. But each time I’ve seen this great community respond with strength, resilience, and support for one another.”

Boulder Police acknowledged they were not aware of Soliman before the attack.

Soliman is also facing state charges, including 16 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, eight counts of intent, eight counts of indifference, two counts of use of an incendiary device, and 16 other counts of attempted use of an incendiary device.

If convicted, Soliman would face 384 years in prison. A judge set a $10 million cash-only bond against Soliman. The federal charge carries a statutory sentence of life in prison because Soliman’s actions included attempted murder.

The FBI said it is not tracking any other credible threats to the Boulder community presently.

Mohamed Soliman mugshot
Mohamed Soliman (Boulder Police Department)

2 people remain hospitalized after Colorado attack: Police

As of Monday afternoon, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn believes two victims are still in the hospital, while the 10 additional victims had minor injuries.

A Justice Department official confirmed to NewsNation that one of the victims was a Holocaust survivor.

Miri Kornfeld, leader of Run for Their Lives’ Denver chapter, confirmed to NewsNation that four people hurt in Boulder had been released from the hospital, while two remained hospitalized.

  • People wait on steps near the scene of attack
  • People wait behind police tape to be allowed back into areas cordoned off by law enforcement
  • police officer works the scene
  • police officers work the scene while onlookers wait
  • An Israeli flag stands in a bed of flowers as caution tape blocks off a street
  • police work the scene after an attack in Colorado
  • police work the scene after an attack in Colorado
  • officer and K9 work the scene after an attack in Denver
  • police work the scene after an attack in Colorado

“We don’t have a status update yet on how those two are doing, but we’re praying for happiness,” Kornfeld said.

Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, said the suspect yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack.

Boulder attack witness describes ‘horrific’ scene

Brian Horwitz, an eyewitness who shot video in the attack’s aftermath, told NewsNation on Monday he heard Soliman saying, “You kill my people. I’ll kill you. You guys are all killers, child killers.”

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The scene was “pretty horrific,” Horwitz told NewsNation. “There were people lying on the ground, writhing in pain, screams, people yelling.”

‘Run for Their Lives’ members didn’t know suspect: Group leader

Kornfeld told NewsNation that she doesn’t think the local Run for Their Lives members knew Soliman.

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“There’s, you know, the typical protesters that show up all the time in Boulder. He was not one of them. He’s not somebody that was on anybody’s radar, at least the Run For Their Lives people or my friends up in Boulder,” Kornfeld said. “He was not somebody that they had seen before.”

Suspect identified as living in US illegally by White House

Soliman, an Egyptian national identified by the White House as an “illegal alien” who overstayed his visa, was also injured during the attack. He was medically evaluated before being booked into the Boulder County Jail, according to law enforcement.

The White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser Stephen Miller said on social media:

“A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien. 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. Suicidal migration must be fully reversed.”

It was unclear Monday morning if Soliman would face further charges in connection with the incident, which the FBI called a “targeted terror attack.”

Trump blasts Biden in Boulder response

In a social media post on Monday, President Donald Trump criticized his predecessor’s border policies while admonishing Sunday’s violence.

“Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America. He came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly,” Trump wrote.

He continued: “My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!”

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