A peaceful demonstration raising awareness for Israeli hostages took a harrowing turn after a man allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set marchers ablaze.
Police in Boulder, Colorado, urged locals to evacuate the area around Pearl Street Mall after receiving a report at around 2 p.m. on Sunday that a man was setting people on fire. Authorities arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, in connection with the attack. The FBI called the attack a “targeted act of violence” and is investigating it as an act of terrorism.
The man allegedly shouted “Free Palestine!” as he used a “makeshift flame thrower” and threw an “incendiary device” into the crowd, the FBI said.
Six people were injured in the attack, with one in critical condition. The victims have not been publicly identified.
Here’s everything we know about the attack.
Just after 2 p.m., Boulder Police announced they were responding to a report that a man with a weapon was setting people on fire, Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a Sunday press conference. An hour later, authorities ordered the evacuation of the 1200, 1300 and 1400 blocks of Pearl Street between Walnut and Pine.
At the time of the attack, Run for Their Lives, a group of demonstrators raising awareness for the Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza, were marching on Pearl Street, as they do every Sunday, organizations have said.
Soliman allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device” into the crowd as he yelled “Free Palestine!”, the FBI said.
Ed Victor, one of about 30 people marching, told CBS News that the group was peacefully walking down Pearl Street when the attack occurred.
“So we stood up, lined up in front of the old Boulder courthouse, and I was actually on the far west side. And there was somebody there that I didn’t even notice, although he was making a lot of noise, but I’m just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. And, from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown,” Victor told the outlet.
Another marcher “saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” he said.
Police arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, on Sunday.
Authorities have not yet announced any charges against him, but the FBI said the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Soliman is a native of Egypt. He entered the country on a visa issued during the administration of former President Joe Biden. The document expired in March 2025, according to Trump administration officials told Fox News.
