The man who attacked a gathering of a Jewish group with Molotov cocktails in the U.S. state of Colorado on Sunday has been charged with a hate crime by a federal prosecutor. Eight people were injured in the attack. Some suffered burns.
The suspect told police that he had been preparing the attack for a year. The 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman said he was targeting what he called a “Zionist group.”
Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at the group on Sunday, which was holding a weekly commemoration for the Israeli hostages in Gaza. He also had at least fourteen other Molotov cocktails with him at the event.
The attack took place on Sunday afternoon (local time) in Boulder, a city about 45 kilometers from Denver. Images show the suspect walking around with his upper body exposed and bottles possibly containing flammable liquid. Meanwhile, he shouts “Free Palestine” and “Zionists” at the group.
The victims of the attack are four men and four women between the ages of 52 and 88. One of them was seriously injured. The suspect was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries after his arrest.
Not much is known about the suspect. Soliman came to the United States from Egypt in August 2022 and is said to have stayed in the country illegally after his visa expired in February 2023.
Extra security measures around Jewish holiday Shavuot
A week and a half before the attack, two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot dead. Since then, the debate surrounding the war in the Gaza Strip has been highly charged.
Prominent politicians sharply condemn the attack in Boulder. Governor Jared Polis of the state of Colorado calls it in a statement “incomprehensible that the Jewish community in Boulder is once again confronted with a terrorist attack.”
Sunday evening marked the start of the three-day Jewish holiday of Shavuot, in which Jews celebrate Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. The police in Boulder say they are taking extra security measures for Shavuot. Police in New York are also extra alert.