The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has now charged Soliman in connection with what is being called a "targeted terror attack." At around 1:26 p.m. on Saturday, Boulder Police responded to reports of an armed individual igniting people near the Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street. The victims, six Israeli supporters aged between 67 and 88, were hospitalized with burn injuries.
Witnesses reported that Soliman shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack, which occurred near a weekly event hosted by "Run for Their Lives," a grassroots organization advocating for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino stated that the incident is being treated as “ideologically motivated violence,” citing evidence and eyewitness accounts. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center on Extremism reviewed video footage from the scene and said that that the suspect shouted phrases such as, “How many children you killed,” “We have to end Zionists,” and “They are killers.”
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the ongoing investigation in a statement posted to X, “We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also addressed the attack, posting, “Terror has no place in our great country.”
According to three senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources who spoke with Fox News reported Bill Melugin, Soliman entered the US through Los Angeles International Airport on August 27, 2022, under a B1/B2 nonimmigrant visa. His authorized stay expired on February 26, 2023, but he failed to leave the country. On September 29, 2022, he filed a claim with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), potentially for asylum, and was granted work authorization on March 29, 2023 that remained valid until March 28, 2025.
The Boulder incident comes less than two weeks after two staff members of the Israeli Embassy were shot in Washington, DC.
