'Antisemitic terror attack' on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall planned for a year, FBI says; 4 new victims found

Lauren Penington and Katie Langford, The Denver Post on Jun 2, 2025

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DENVER — The man accused of injuring 12 people on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall with a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails spent more than a year planning the “targeted act of violence” against a group calling for the release of Israeli hostages, law enforcement officials said Monday.

Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, intended to carry out a mass shooting in downtown Boulder and only switched to an explosive plan after he was denied a gun because of his immigration status, county investigators said in an arrest affidavit.

Investigators have identified four additional victims in the attack, bringing the total to 12, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said during a Monday afternoon briefing. The four victims who came forward Monday had minor injuries, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said. Two people injured in the attack are still hospitalized.

Soliman, an Egyptian citizen living in Colorado illegally, was charged with a federal hate crime in Sunday’s attack, according to an FBI arrest affidavit. The U.S. Department of Justice characterized the weekend incident as an “antisemitic terror attack.”

If convicted, Soliman could spend up to life in prison, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell said Monday afternoon.

Soliman was also arrested on suspicion of 42 state felony charges, according to the Boulder arrest affidavit. The state charges under investigation include:

—Eight counts of attempted first-degree murder after deliberation,

—Eight counts of attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference,

—Six counts of first-degree assault of an at-risk or elderly victim,

—Two counts of first-degree assault,

—Two counts of possession of an incendiary device,

—And 16 counts of attempted possession of an incendiary device.

Soliman has not yet been charged in Boulder County and is being held on a $10 million bond, according to court records. If he is convicted on all counts, he faces up to 624 years in prison.

Federal officials said Soliman was living in Colorado Springs illegally with his wife and five children after overstaying a tourist visa that expired in 2023.

He told investigators that he waited for a year to attack the group because he wanted his daughter to graduate from high school first, according to his arrest affidavit.

Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails at a crowd of Run for Their Lives demonstrators, burning eight people, the affidavit stated. Investigators found another black plastic box with at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails inside nearby.

Run for Their Lives is a national movement calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

The local Boulder chapter was hosting its weekly walk on the Pearl Street Mall, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, when Soliman attacked them outside the courthouse.

Soliman told federal officials he arrived at 12:55 p.m. and waited for the group to reach him, according to court documents.

To get as close to the group as possible, officials said Soliman dressed like a gardener. He wore an orange vest, bought flowers from Home Depot and purchased a backpack weed sprayer that he filled with gasoline.

The attack happened just before the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which began at sundown on Sunday.

Soliman planned for more than a year and specifically targeted Boulder’s Run for Their Lives chapter, which Soliman called a “Zionist group,” federal officials said.

He confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he would do it again if he could, according to the FBI arrest affidavit.

Soliman told law enforcement “that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the affidavit stated.

The 45-year-old told investigators that he didn’t expect to survive the attack, according to court documents. He sprayed himself with gasoline and expected to burn alongside his victims.

State and federal officials said four men and four women between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured in Soliman’s attack. As of Monday afternoon, all were still alive.

“No American should experience violence motivated by hatred based on their faith or national origin, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice will act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “There can be zero tolerance for such acts in our great nation.”

The Molotov cocktails were made with bottles and jars, filled with gasoline and had red rags hanging out, according to the document. A backpack weed sprayer was also discovered near the box of explosives.

Investigators found rags, a red gas container and paperwork with the words “Israel,” “Palestine” and “USAID” inside Soliman’s car, which was parked behind a church at 13th and Spruce streets, the affidavit stated.

A news conference with more information about Soliman’s federal and pending state charges was scheduled for later Monday.

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