Hate crime in Boulder by illegal Egyptian national who set victims on fire

Boulder police taped off an area near the crime scene. (KDVR)

Article written by Alexandria Koch/Fox News

An Egyptian national who came into the country two years ago and overstayed his visa has been charged in the gruesome terror attack that left eight people injured in Boulder, Colorado, Sunday, authorities said.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested at the scene, after he allegedly set his victims on fire as they peacefully rallied on behalf of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Soliman was heard yelling “Free Palestine” and other anti-Israel slogans during the attack on victims ranging in age from 52 to 88.

Online records show Soliman has been booked into the Boulder County Jail on multiple felony charges, including one count of explosives or incendiary devices used during a felony and two counts of first-degree murder. The circumstances surrounding the murder charges are unclear since authorities have not announced whether any of the victims have succumbed to their injuries. Soliman is being held on a $10 million bond.

The shocking violence unfolded at 1:26 p.m. local time, when Boulder police were called to the county courthouse on Pearl Street for reports of a man who had a weapon and was setting people on fire, according to Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn. The attack took place near an event put on by “Run for Their Lives,” a grassroots group that organizes run and walk events calling for the release of Israeli hostages held since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

“Run for Their Lives is an apolitical global organization with the sole mission of walking peacefully to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza,” the group said in a statement to Fox News Digital.  Run for Their Lives said it has been holding events every week since Oct. 15, 2023 “without any violent incidents until today.” It called the plight of the remaining hostages an “international humanitarian crisis” and said there is a “collective responsibility to release them all.”

“We call on world leaders to do everything they can to ensure the swift return home of each of the 58 hostages. Run for Their Lives remains committed to our mission until ALL the HOSTAGES are returned back home!” the organization said.

The suspect was heard yelling, “How many children you killed?” and “We have to end Zionists, they are killers,” according to an analysis of video of the scene by the ADL Center on Extremism.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the attack, which happened on the eve of Shavuot, appears to have been motivated by hate. “From what we know, this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted,” Weiser wrote in a statement. “People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the attack is being investigated as an act of “ideologically motivated violence,” based on early information, evidence and witness accounts.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed the National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground.

Later Sunday, FBI Denver said agents were at a location in El Paso County, Colorado conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources told Fox News Soliman is in the country illegally as a visa over-stay.He allegedly flew into the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2022, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa. Soliman was authorized to stay through Feb.  26, 2023, but never left, according to officials. On Sept. 29, 2022, he filed a claim, possibly for asylum.

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