A man set fire to a group of people participating in a peaceful walk in Boulder, Colorado, supporting Israeli hostages, leaving eight injured—including one woman engulfed in flames. The FBI described the incident as a “targeted terror attack.”
The four men and four women were hospitalized, with at least one in critical condition and possibly not surviving.
The assailant, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, threw incendiary devices into the crowd gathered on Pearl Street Mall around 1:26 p.m. Sunday, according to The New York Times. Authorities reported that Soliman shouted “free Palestine” as he attacked with what was described as a makeshift flamethrower.
Soliman, an Egyptian national who overstayed a tourist visa, entered the U.S. through Los Angeles International Airport on August 27, 2022, with permission to stay until February 26, 2023, and later received work authorization that expired in March 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There was no evidence connecting him to any organized group, said FBI Denver Special Agent Mark Michalek.
The victims were participating in “Run for Their Lives,” a weekly walk commemorating hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Among those injured was an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who had fled Europe during the Nazi regime, Rabbi Israel Wilhelm of the University of Colorado told CBS Colorado.
A verified video captured a shirtless man wielding two bottles, yelling amid chaos as parts of the grass near the Boulder County Courthouse burned. Police Chief Steve Redfearn confirmed that Soliman was apprehended at the scene after witnesses identified him.
The suspect allegedly shouted “End Zionists!” and “They are killers!” before igniting and throwing Molotov cocktails, which included bottles of clear liquid, setting five people on fire, according to the New York Post. The event’s organizer, Miri Kornfeld, stated that Soliman had been waiting near the courthouse with bottles of liquid, and as participants arrived, he lit and threw them, causing chaos and injuries.
This attack occurred less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., by a man who also shouted “Free, free Palestine.”
