12 people were injured, one of them critically, during a solidarity protest with the Israeli hostages in Colorado, when an Egyptian terrorist attacked them.
By Rachel Avraham
On Sunday afternoon, as Jews across the world prepared to celebrate the Shavuot holiday, a peaceful rally in downtown Boulder, Colorado, took place as part of the global “Run for Their Lives” campaign calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Since the October 7th massacre, 230 groups worldwide have been running in solidarity calling for the release of the Israeli hostages, without any sort of violent incidents till now. This peaceful protest in Colorado was interrupted by an Egyptian terrorist, who wantonly injured 12 people, of whom most of them were elderly and one of whom was a Holocaust survivor, while yelling “Free Palestine.”
On the day of the terror attack, the group had completed their usual route along Boulder’s main Pearl Street and was gathering near city hall when the terrorist struck, Israel Hayom stressed. “He had clearly planned it in advance,” Shahar, who led the march, told Israel Hayom. “He came with pre-prepared Molotov cocktails and even carried a canister of fuel. As I stood and spoke to the group, he threw the first bottle, it hit their legs and the flames spread quickly across their clothes. The eldest among us, an 88-year-old woman, immediately collapsed.”
Shahar and another participant initially tried to confront the terrorist, Israel Hayom noted. “But when I got closer and saw he had a box full of more bottles, we realized we couldn’t risk it. We pulled back and tried to get people away and tend to the wounded. Others stepped in, trying to shield the group.” The terror attack lasted about 10 minutes before police arrived. In the meantime, the marchers acted as first responders, Israel Hayom stressed: “The people on the ground were the ones who extinguished the flames, helped others walk, and moved them out of danger. It was incredibly disturbing.”
Authorities initially said eight people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured, but later raised the tally to 12 after four others with minor injuries came forward, the Times of Israel noted. “As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver Field Office, Mark Michalek, told Reuters.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is charged with attacking the rally on Sunday with a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, wounding 12, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, he was arrested at the scene of the attack. The Times of Israel added that the Police said Sunday night that one of the victims was in critical condition, and two suffered burn injuries severe enough that they were airlifted to a Denver hospital for treatment.
The man accused of using a flamethrower to attack a demonstration voicing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza told investigators he planned the assault for a year and wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” according to court documents released Monday, the Washington Post reported. According to the report, Soliman is charged with a federal hate crime and attempted murder, among other charges, and is facing a life sentence. The Washington Post added that authorities said Soliman had more than a dozen unused Molotov cocktails.
According to Reuters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the victims were attacked “simply because they were Jews” and that he trusted U.S. authorities would prosecute “the cold blood perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law. The antisemitic attacks around the world are a direct result of blood libels against the Jewish state and people, and this must be stopped.”
Photo from katsuoplis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Boulder_fire_attack#/media/File:2025_Boulder_fire_attack_response.webp
