Authorities in Colorado said a man accused of attacking a Boulder gathering connected to advocacy for Israeli hostages in Gaza now faces both federal and state charges, turning a violent Sunday assault into a major hate-crime and attempted-murder case. BBC News reported that twelve people were injured after the suspect allegedly shouted “free Palestine” and used incendiary devices against members of the group Run for Their Lives.
The suspect, identified by authorities as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was arrested at the scene and later appeared in court. According to the BBC’s summary of the charges, state prosecutors brought 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts related to the use of an incendiary device and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device. Federal prosecutors also filed a hate-crime charge. The layering of charges reflects the seriousness with which authorities are treating the attack and the allegation that it deliberately targeted a group because of its perceived identity or views.
Investigators said the assault had been planned well in advance. The FBI told reporters that Soliman had been preparing for the attack for a year and acted alone. Court documents cited by the BBC alleged that he told investigators he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.” If prosecutors sustain that account, it will likely remain central to the hate-crime case because it speaks directly to motive and target selection.
The attack unfolded in a narrow time window. According to police, Soliman arrived at a park in Boulder shortly before 1 p.m. local time and waited for the Run for Their Lives group, which holds events calling for the release of hostages seized by Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attacks. At 1:26 p.m., authorities say, he launched the attack using Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower. Officers arrived within minutes and took him into custody at 1:32 p.m.
Police said twelve people were injured, with at least one person left in critical condition and at least two airlifted for treatment in Aurora. That toll was higher than some of the earliest public accounts and underlined how severe the burns and related injuries were. The event’s organizers described themselves as apolitical and focused solely on drawing attention to hostages still held in Gaza. Shira Weiss, the group’s global coordinator, told the BBC that members had always treated safety as a priority but had never imagined such a violent assault.
The attack immediately broadened into a debate about political violence, community protection and immigration status. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Soliman an “illegal alien,” but Department of Homeland Security officials told the BBC that he had entered the United States legally on a tourist visit in 2023 and later applied for asylum after that status expired. That discrepancy may fuel a separate political argument, but it does not alter the core facts of the criminal case.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who said he knew two of the victims personally, described the assault as a blow against free speech and called for broad public condemnation of such attacks. Local chapters of Run for Their Lives began discussing additional security, including fundraising and coordination with police, while Jewish institutions and other community groups reviewed their own precautions.
What happened in Boulder was therefore more than an isolated act of street violence. It struck a group engaged in public advocacy, triggered a terrorism-style law-enforcement response and left communities arguing over how to remain visible without becoming vulnerable. With prosecutors alleging long-term planning and explicit anti-Zionist intent, the case is likely to be watched closely as both a hate-crime prosecution and a test of how authorities address politically charged violence in public spaces.
