Boulder, Colorado attack suspect: What we know
A man used a makeshift flamethrower and threw a device into a crowd, injuring eight people at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado over the weekend. FBI officials are describing the incident as a "targeted attack."
Who is the Boulder attack suspect?
Dig deeper:
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been identified as the suspect by the FBI, with officials saying that he yelled "Free Palestine" during the Sunday attack on the group of demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, told the Associated Press.
Once in custody, Soliman told authorities "he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," that he specifically targeted the Run for Their Lives group and that he researched and planned the attack for more than a year, the AP reported, citing court documents.
"This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it," FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
Boulder terror attack: FBI reveals suspect details
Boulder, Colorado: Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman was booked into the Boulder County jail and will likely face charges in connection to the terror attack. The 45-year-old is said the be in the U.S. illegally, according to FOX News. He is said to be from Egypt.
Officials told the AP that Soliman was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment, but authorities didn’t give details on his injuries.
RELATED: FBI: Boulder terror attack targeted Israeli supporters, 6 injured
The AP reported that no charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him "fully accountable."
An FBI affidavit obtained by the AP said Soliman, of Colorado Springs, confessed to the attack and told police he would do it again.
Court records show Soliman was scheduled to appear in state court in Boulder on Monday afternoon.
The Department of Homeland Security told the AP that Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and has been living in the U.S. illegally since his visa expired in February 2023.
An online resume under his name says he was employed by a Denver-area health care organization working in accounting and inventory control, with prior employers listed as companies in Egypt. Soliman listed Al-Azhar University, a historic center for Islamic and Arabic learning located in Cairo, on the resume, the AP reported.
FILE-Law enforcement officials are on scene to investigate an attack on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Video from the scene showed Soliman shirtless and wearing jeans and holding two clear bottles with liquid in them while shouting at onlookers.
According to the AP, another video shows a witness shouting, "He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails," as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on the suspect.
Several people hospitalized after attack
What we know:
Officials said people injured in the Boulder attack range in age from 52 to 88. The injuries authorities found were consistent with reports of people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told the Associated Press, adding that injuries ranged from serious to minor.
Redfearn told reporters Sunday that it was too soon to discuss a motive, but that witnesses were being interviewed.
What we don't know:
The identities of the victims have not been released by authorities.
What happened in the Boulder attack?
Local perspective:
Authorities said Mohamed Sabry Soliman targeted demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run for Their Lives, which organizes run and walk events to call for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza since they were captured by militants during the incursion into southern Israel that started the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
According to the Associated Press, the group assembled at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, Colorado.
Police in Boulder evacuated multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as officers with a police dog walked through the streets searching for threats and told people to stay clear of the area.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which received comments from FBI officials on the suspect and the Boulder, Colorado attack. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.