By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BOULDER, USA (Worthy News) – A man who was in the United States illegally has been detained after a violent attack at a “Run for Their Lives” event in Boulder, Colorado, left multiple Jewish Americans injured — some reportedly set on fire — and one person dead. The event was held to raise awareness for hostages still held by Hamas, officials said.
Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, apparently Muslim, is facing murder, assault, and other charges following what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) called a “targeted terror attack” in the U.S. city of Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday.
The antisemitic violence against a Jewish American group demanding that Hamas free Israeli hostages left eight people, ages 52 to 88, with injuries, including one in critical condition, the FBI confirmed. The person apparently died of the injuries.
Police said they responded to the area after receiving reports of a man with a weapon setting people on fire.
In one video reviewed by Worthy News a shirtless man, who was later detained, was holding clear spray bottles in his hands and pacing as the grass in front of him burned.
He could be heard screaming “End Zionists!”, “Palestine is Free!” and “They are killers!” towards people in red t-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.
At least one person shouted, “You can’t do that!” to him, according to footage monitored by Worthy News.
After roaming an outdoor area, Soliman, 45, was detained and taken to the hospital with minor injuries after his alleged attack on the “Run for Their Lives” group that was gathering on Pearl Street, police said.
He was then charged with “first-degree murder”, “crimes against at-risk adults/elderly”, “assault”, “criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies,” and “use of explosives or incendiary devices during a felony”, prosecutors announced.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York voiced outrage at the attack.
Soon after the drama unfolded, FBI chief Kash Patel said: “We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.”
MOTIVE INVESTIGATED
Although footage seemed to confirm the FBI assessment, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive” behind the incident, which occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m. local time.
Redfearn told reporters that “initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire,” adding that police arrived “very quickly.”
“When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims who were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries,” he said.
Redfearn added that police on the scene “immediately encountered that suspect, who was taken into custody without incident. ”
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on the social media platform X that it was “aware of reports of an attack at today’s Boulder Run for Their Lives event.”
That event, it said, was a “weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages” who were seized during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
The attack happened more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” as police were leading him away.
The attack was expected to boost U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s call for the massive deportation of illegal migrants, especially “violent criminals.”
Soliman first arrived in the U.S. after landing at Los Angeles International Airport on August 27, 2022, with a non-immigrant visa, according to officials.
He was reportedly authorized to stay through February 2, 2023, but never left. On September 9, 2022, he filed a claim with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
On March 29, 2023, Soliman was granted work authorization, which was valid only through March of that year, meaning he was staying in the United States illegally.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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