Boulder County’s district attorney on Thursday charged the suspect in the Pearl Street Mall terror attack with more than 100 criminal counts related to the antisemitic firebombing that injured 15 people and a dog.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian immigrant who officials say was living in the U.S. illegally, faces 118 charges, including dozens of counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Sixty-two of the charges concern offenses against victims, including 28 counts of attempted first-degree murder. Two attempted-murder counts — one for being a premeditated crime, the other as an act of extreme indifference — each applied to 14 of the injured victims.
Prosecutors levied a third-degree assault charge on behalf of the 15th person who was hurt in Sunday’s attack. Soliman was also charged with multiple counts of attempted assault and use of incendiary devices — plus a misdemeanor animal-cruelty count because a dog was injured in the attack.
The remaining 56 counts relate to violent crimes that could cause serious bodily injury or death
“The charges reflect the evidence that we have regarding this horrific attack that took place, and the seriousness of it,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said at a news conference.
Soliman, who is being held on $10 million bail, remains in custody and appeared for a brief hearing Thursday afternoon in the courtroom at the Boulder County jail. His attorney, Kathryn Herold, waived a formal reading of the charges.
His preliminary hearing has been set for July 15.
Soliman also faces a federal hate crime count in connection with the attack, and is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Denver on Friday in that case.
He is accused of shouting “Free Palestine” and throwing Molotov cocktails at people who had gathered on the popular pedestrian mall Sunday for a weekly demonstration urging the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. He told police he wanted “to kill all Zionist people,” according to an arrest affidavit.
Soliman planned the attack for more than a year and initially sought to carry out a mass shooting against the group, law enforcement officials said. He instead armed himself with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower — made from a weed sprayer — after he could not buy a gun because of his immigration status.
All 15 of the injured victims are expected to survive, Boulder officials have said. They range in age from 25 to 88, and include eight women and seven men.
Three people remained in the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital’s burn unit on Thursday, a spokesperson said.
Federal immigration authorities on Tuesday detained Soliman’s wife and five children — all Egyptian citizens — and attempted to place them in expedited removal proceedings.
Department of Homeland Security officials have said Soliman overstayed his tourist visa and remained in the U.S. illegally, though his family’s attorney said they appeared to have a pending asylum case that allowed them to remain in the country legally.
A federal judge in Denver issued an order Wednesday temporarily halting their deportation.
Soliman’s wife, Hayam Salah Alsaid Ahmed El Gamal, 41, and the couple’s five children were being held at an immigration processing center in Texas, their attorney said.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the family’s claims “absurd” and “an attempt to delay justice.” She said the entire family was living in the U.S. illegally.
The attack has rattled Colorado’s Jewish community, prompting increased security at synagogues, community centers and other gatherings. The Boulder Jewish Festival is set to take place Sunday on the Pearl Street Mall, and authorities said there will be a heavy police presence at the event.
“We want people to feel safe and at ease,” Boulder police Chief Stephen Redfearn said during a news conference Thursday.
Denver Post reporters Katie Langford and Lauren Penington, and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.
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