Denver, Colo., Jun 2, 2025 /
18:27 pm
Every Sunday afternoon since Oct. 7, 2023, a peaceful group has gathered for a vigil walk in downtown Boulder, Colorado, to remember the Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas.
This past Sunday, as they marched past local shops and restaurants in the city’s outdoor Pearl Street Mall, eight participants in the group’s activity were firebombed in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
In the wake of the June 1 attack, the archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila, called for an end to anti-Jewish violence and urged the faithful to join together in prayer for the victims.
“I’m deeply saddened this evening to hear of the attack in Boulder, especially as it seems our Jewish brothers and sisters were targeted,” Aquila said in a statement released June 1.
A suspect used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, yelling “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to law enforcement.
Four women and four men ages 52 to 88 were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries after the attack.
“This type of violence must come to an end as it only fuels hatred,” Aquila said.
The attack closely followed the killing of two Israeli embassy employees — a young couple soon to be engaged — in Washington, D.C., just weeks ago.
The Boulder attack suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was booked in the Boulder County Jail on multiple felony charges, according to the City of Boulder.
An FBI affidavit said Soliman confessed to the attack, telling the police he had planned it for a year and that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”
After being taken into custody, Soliman reportedly told the police he would do it again.
In addition to the two Molotov cocktails that Soliman threw into the crowd, investigators found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails as well as weed sprayer filled with gasoline, according to the FBI affidavit.
An Egyptian citizen, Soliman entered the country on a B2 visa in August 2022 and filed for asylum the following month. He remained in the country even though his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel described what happened as a “targeted terrorist attack” and said the federal agency is “fully investigating” it as such.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump pledged to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the law.”
“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and the great people of Boulder, Colorado!” Trump continued.
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The mayor of Boulder, Aaron Brockett, decried the attack in a statement, saying that the city would “stand strong together.”
“Know that the Jewish community has my full support and the support of the entire Boulder community,” Brockett said.
“Please join me in praying for everyone affected by this horrific attack,” Aquila said. “We ask the Lord to bring comfort, healing, and peace in the face of such hatred.”
“May we listen to the voice of God, who calls us to love one another!” Aquila concluded.
Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register, and CatholicVote, and she graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.
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