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Twelve people at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colo., calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza were injured on Sunday by a man police say attacked a crowd with makeshift incendiary
devices and a flamethrower. The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was arrested at the scene and FBI Director Kash Patel has described the incident as a
terror attack. The Department of Justice decried the Pearl Street Mall attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.” Advertisement
Advertisement President Donald Trump pledged in a Monday post on his Truth Social platform to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the Law.” “Yesterday's horrific attack
in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America," Trump wrote. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, Mark Michalek, said in a press
conference on Sunday evening: “Attacks like this are becoming too common across the country, this is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities.” In a
statement, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said that the attack “appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted” and that the group was conducting one of its weekly
meets. WHO IS THE SUSPECTED ATTACKER? Soliman arrived in the U.S. on a non-immigrant B2 visa in August 2022 that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary
Tricia McLaughlin said in a Monday post on X. She added that he filed for asylum in September 2022. “The Colorado terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,”
McLaughlin told TIME in a statement. “He came in through Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly. He must go out under 'TRUMP' Policy,”
Trump said of Soliman in his Truth Social post. “This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart
goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” CBS reported that Soliman is an Egyptian national and has recently been living in Colorado
Springs. According to the FBI’s Michalek, Soliman shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack. READ MORE: _Who Is the Suspect in the Colorado Attack?_ According to the Associated Press, video
from the scene showed Soliman holding two clear bottles with transparent liquid while he shouted at onlookers, and another video shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing
Molotov cocktails,” as an armed police officer approaches him. Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said that the attack took place around 1:30 p.m. local time, and that Soliman was taken
to hospital with minor injuries. “At this time it appears the perpetrator acted alone,” Michalek said at a Monday afternoon press conference. But he noted that authorities “do continue to
investigate all possibilities and pursue all investigative leads.” “If we uncover evidence that others knew of this attack or supported the subject in this attack, rest assured that we will
aggressively move to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. Soliman has been charged with 16 counts of first-degree attempted murder, including eight counts for
attempted murder with intent and after deliberation and eight for attempted murder with extreme indifference, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in the Monday press conference. He also
faces two counts of use of an incendiary device and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device. He is being charged with a federal hate crime as well, the Justice Department
announced Monday. “The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest
extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. An FBI affidavit supporting the hate crime
charge says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody and told police he planned it for a year, targeting what he described as a “Zionist group.” Acting U.S. Attorney
for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell said during Monday’s press conference that Soliman told authorities he had previously tried to buy a firearm, but was unable to because he is
not a legal citizen and instead resorted to using Molotov cocktails. “There were 16 unused Molotov cocktails within arm’s reach of the subject at the time of his arrest,” Dougherty said. “So
there is no question that the first responders saved lives and prevented further victims from being injured.” When the hate crime charge Soliman faces includes attempted murder, Grewell
noted, it carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. If convicted on the state charges, he could be sentenced to up to 384 years in prison on the attempted murder charges, 48 for the use
of incendiary devices, and up to 192 for the attempted use of incendiary devices, Dougherty said. Soliman made his first appearance in court Monday afternoon. He will be back in court on
Thursday for the filing of charges. WHO ARE THE VICTIMS? Twelve people are believed to have been injured in the attack after law enforcement identified four additional victims on Monday,
according to Dougherty. Four men and four women were hospitalized Sunday. The injuries were consistent with people being set on fire, Redfearn said on Sunday, adding that one of the victims
was in critical condition. The people taken to hospitals range from 52 to 88 years old, Boulder police said Sunday. Redfearn said Monday afternoon that two victims were still hospitalized.
The four previously unidentified victims sustained “minor” injuries and came forward later to be interviewed, he said. READ MORE: _What We Know About the Victims of the Colorado Attack_ The
event calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas was part of Run for Their Lives, non-violent running and walking events organized in communities around the world. Run for Their Lives
has two chapters in Colorado, plus 100 others across 30 U.S. states. According to its website, it was started by a group of Israelis in the Bay Area of San Francisco alongside the Hostage
and Missing Families Forum (#BringThemHomeNow). The Boulder attack comes almost two weeks after two Israeli embassy staff were fatally shot in Washington, D.C. while attending an event at
the Capitol Jewish Museum. The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, told police after the shooting that he did it for Gaza, and “for Palestine.” Antisemitism and political violence is on the rise
across the U.S. The FBI recorded 1,989 incidents of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023, the last year for which data is available.