Updated at 3:20 p.m. on Monday, June 2, 2025.
Federal agents said Mohamed Sabry Soliman told police after his arrest in a Boulder firebombing that he planned his attack for a year, would do it again if he could and “wished they all were dead.”
According to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday morning, Soliman, 45, threw two lit Molotov cocktails at the gathering near the Boulder courthouse, yelling “Free Palestine!”
He later told police he had taken a concealed handgun carry course with plans to shoot the victims, but abandoned that when he was unable to purchase a gun due to his immigration status.
Though one federal hate crime charge has been filed so far, more are likely coming. In the affidavit, authorities say the weapons were made with wine carafes and gasoline and were not manufactured in Colorado, which they say qualifies the attack as an interstate crime.
At a press conference in Boulder Monday afternoon, authorities increased the number of victims from eight to 12 after four more people noted minor injuries from the Sunday afternoon attack. J. Bishop Grewell, acting U.S. Attorney for Colorado, said Soliman told police he had hoped for more.
"When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die," Grewell said. "He had no regrets and he would go back and do it again."
An affidavit filed in support of several state charges, including attempted murder, added additional details.
Boulder authorities said that Soliman dressed himself like a gardener, put on an orange vest and bought flowers from Home Depot in Castle Rock. He also “purchased a backpack sprayer which he filled with gas and wore on his back as he approached the group. He said he did not spray the gas on anyone but himself because he had planned on dying. Mohamed mentioned several times he wanted to be dead,” read the state affidavit.
Investigators recovered 18 separate incendiary devices, including the two Molotov cocktails he threw at the group, according to the state affidavit. Soliman told investigators that no one knew, including his family, of his plan.
Soliman has been charged in state court with attempted first-degree murder, assault, and possession of an incendiary device. Soliman appeared briefly in court from the Boulder County Jail, wearing an orange jumpsuit, and what appeared to be bandages on his head. It was his first advisement. He was asked by the judge if he'd received and understood a protection order, keeping him from contacting victims. He answered 'yes' to both questions. Soliman will return to court on Thursday, June 5, at 3:30 p.m. for filing of charges.
Soliman was born in Egypt and applied for U.S. asylum in September 2022, after arriving on a tourist visa, according to federal authorities. He previously spent 17 years in Kuwait before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, according to the state arrest paperwork.
Twelve people suffered a range of injuries Sunday afternoon after Soliman used the backpack sprayer, called a “makeshift flame thrower” by authorities, and other incendiary devices at a gathering honoring Israeli hostages in Gaza, according to authorities.
At least two victims were flown to the burn unit at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora Sunday. One is listed in critical condition. All others were treated and released, and four more came forward later. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Agents have executed a search warrant at Soliman’s home in eastern Colorado Springs. Mark Michalek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Denver Field Office, said the family was cooperative when agents arrived.
Outside the home in Colorado Springs on Monday, Craig Martinez, a neighbor of Soliman's, described the family as normal. Soliman and a woman from the house even brought them over dessert after they moved in.
"The kids were outside, especially during the summer months. Their front door would be wide open and they were kind of just hanging out," Martinez said. "I feel terrible for everybody involved. I feel terrible for the people attacked. I feel terrible for the family. I feel for everybody.
At least four women and four men ages 52 to 88 were hurt in the attack. Attorney General Phil Weiser said one of the victims is a Holocaust survivor.
“That's something that's shaken a lot of us,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who has relatives who survived the Holocaust. “We've all got to commit to protecting one another and making clear that hate against any group needs to be treated as hate against all groups.”
In videos widely posted on social media, Soliman is seen shirtless and yelling after the attack, and investigators said he shouted “free Palestine.” He’s being held at Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond. He does not have a previous criminal record in the state of Colorado.
The affidavit filed in the federal hate crime case, which spells Soliman's first name as Mohammed, provides a detailed timeline of events. Soliman consented to an interview with police and agents and showed no remorse, according to court papers.
“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. He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack.”
Federal investigators say he told them he planned to be gone after the attack, saying he left an iPhone hidden at his house in a desk drawer with messages to his family as well as a journal, according to the affidavit. Authorities now have those items.
He had barely dipped into his arsenal before he stopped throwing the flaming bottles, according to the federal probable cause statement. Soliman told police he got scared, and "had never hurt anyone before," according to the state arrest documents. But, he said "he had to do it...and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it."
The state affidavit said Soliman had tried to carry out the attack with a gun, but was denied a purchase because he is not a citizen. That's when he settled on Molotov cocktails and the sprayer.
Investigators located Soliman's Toyota Prius near the scene of the attack: “Visible inside the car was red material consistent with the rags found in the black plastic container; a red gas container; and paperwork with the words, “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID.”
Soliman admitted to investigators in an interview that he researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube.
“A black plastic container with a yellow top was found near where SOLIMAN was arrested. In the black plastic container were at least fourteen unlit Molotov cocktails, comprised of glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars containing clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the bottles. Near the black plastic container was a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance," according to a federal criminal complaint. Tests revealed the substance was gasoline.
The Council of American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, issued a statement strongly condemning the attack.
"The person who perpetrated this violence in Boulder is a criminal whose unacceptable actions do not, in any way, represent the countless Americans of diverse backgrounds who are peacefully advocating for an end to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," read the statement. "Peaceful protests, political engagement, and civil disobedience are the only ways to change policies in our nation."
A number of potential criminal enhancements could be applied in the case due to the victims’ ages and religious identity.
“In Colorado, we have a punishment enhancement for when crimes are committed with what the law calls animus, which means you're attacking somebody based on who they are,” said Weiser. The state does not, however, have a criminal terrorism statute.
According to Tricia Mclaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Soliman entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 tourism visa in California that expired in February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022 and received permission to work while that application was pending.
The attack took place on the Pearl Street Mall during an event organized by Run for Their Lives, an organization devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized in the aftermath of Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said his department regularly receives requests for additional security for events, but has no record of the Run for Their Lives group requesting police presence at their regular Sunday walks.
CPR’s Caitlyn Kim and Ryan Warner contributed to this report.
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- Colorado Gov. Polis says Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall is where people ‘cherish free speech’
