What we know about the Boulder terror attack so far
An Egyptian national has been arrested and charged
Here's what we know about the June 1 Boulder terror attack so far.
Please note: This article may be updated as more information becomes available, so please check back.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, age 45, attacked a regularly scheduled vigil for the Israeli hostages held by Hamas using molotov cocktails and what one FBI official has called a "makeshift flamethrower."
It’s been reported that Soliman, an Egyptian national, was in the country illegally after overstaying a visa issued to him in 2022 under the Biden administration.
“A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien. He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden Administration and then he illegally overstayed that visa. In response, the Biden Administration gave him a work permit,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote in a post on X. "Suicidal migration must be fully reversed."
In a press conference, Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the Denver field office, revealed Soliman used an "improvised flamethrower" in addition to molotov cocktails and that six people were injured, with ages ranging from 67 to 88.
Two of the victims were airlifted to a Denver hospital burn unit. According to the NY Post, the 88 year-old female victim of Soliman's antisemitic terrorist attack was Holocaust refugee.
Michalek said Soliman yelled "Free Palestine!" during the attack.
"It is clear this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," Michalek said.
Boulder Police Chief Redfern gave some logistical updates for the Pearl Street mall area following Michalek's statements. He said they do not believe there is an additional suspect at large but he was not certain because the investigation is still ongoing.
Redfern had refused to call the incident a terror attack at a press conference held earlier in the day despite FBI Director Kash Patel and other top Trump law enforcement officials stating it was a targeted terror attack.
The Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the various law enforcement agencies along with his office were working to "hold the attacker fully accountable."
"That is my promise," said Dougherty. "To hold the attacker fully accountable."
View the press conference below:
Soliman's home was raided by the FBI late Sunday evening.
“The FBI is at a location in El Paso County, CO, conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity related to the attack on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder,” per an X post by the FBI’s Denver office.
Boulder County Jail records show Soliman is being held on $10 million bond. Charges include using an incendiary device, first degree assault, crimes against the elderly and, while no deaths have been reported as of yet, felony first degree murder with "extreme indifference."
Soliman’s mugshot has been made available by the Boulder County Jail.
More To The Story
A tourist who was having lunch on Pearl Street described what he saw happening, describing a woman who had been set on fire from "head to toe."
Another witness was asked what he saw. The man, who said he's from South America, said he was disturbed because what he saw is something that happens in "the third world," and not in the U.S.
Updates
June 3
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went scorched earth on the Biden administration for allowing Soliman to remain in the country.
Meanwhile, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin reported that the State Department confirmed " all visas for Boulder terror attack suspect Mohamed Soliman’s family have been revoked. ICE arrested all of them earlier today & they are now in federal custody being processed for expedited removal/fast deportation."
That reporting follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio's June 2 warning that individuals like Soliman and their families would be deported.
June 4
A Biden appointed judge intervened and issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the Soliman family from being deported.
New video emerged showing Soliman lobbing molotov cocktails at his victims and also setting himself on fire in the process. The attorney for the Soliman family argued they should not be deported because the children are “minors.”
ABC News carried the new video footage:
Also on June 4, a video of Soliman which he recorded before the attack was released by MEMRI. In the video, Soliman rails against "zionist," and says that, "Jihad for Allah's sake are more beloved to me than you and the whole world are."
MEMRI is a nonprofit organization that translates and analyzes speeches and videos given in other languages to English versions.
Here are Soliman's remarks from the video as provided by MEMRI:
Allah is greater than anything. Allah is greater than the Zionists, Allah is greater than America and its weapons, Allah is greater than the F-35 planes, Allah is greater than everything else.
So why do we fear those who are inferior to Allah rather than fear Allah himself?
If I told my wife and son every day to do something, but they didn’t do it, I would be angry. Maybe I would divorce my wife, maybe I would kick my son out of [the] home.
Then what about Allah, who says to us every day, dozens of times: “Allah Akbar.”
Do Not forget: Allah Akbar. Do not forget that Allah is greater than everything. Not the Zionists, America, Britain, France, or Germany – only Allah has the right to be feared.
I say to my brother, my wife, my children, my brothers, my people: I attest before Allah and before you that Allah, His Messenger, and Jihad for Allah’s sake are more beloved to me than you and the whole world are.
According to the charging document on Soliman, who has been charged with a federal hate crime in addition to his other charges, his attack was premeditated.
Per the charging document, Soliman told law enforcement after his arrest how he researched molotov cocktails, laid in wait for his victims, and that he had been planning his terror attack for over a year but was waiting "until after his daughter graduated."
The Trump administration moved to deport Soliman’s wife and five children, who are also here illegally due to overstaying their authorized end date of February 2023. That move was blocked by U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Gallagher of the Tenth Circuit Appeals Court.
June 10
113 U.S. House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning Soliman’s terror attack. Members of the North Carolina House delegation all voted in favor of House Resolution 488, except for Reps. Foushee and Murphy did not vote.