A group called Run for Their Lives had organized it to bring attention to Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Just regular folks, mostly older, standing up for what they believe in. Everything seemed calm… until it wasn’t. Out of nowhere, this guy shows up and, honestly, it was terrifying. He had some kind of homemade flamethrower and even Molotov cocktails — like real firebombs. He started setting people on fire. Six people got badly hurt, and they were all older, between 67 and 88 years old. One of them is still fighting for their life.
People say the attacker was shouting political stuff
Some people who were there said the man — his name is Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45 years old — was yelling things like “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists” while he attacked. You could hear people screaming and running. I mean, imagine being at a peaceful event and suddenly someone’s throwing fire at you. It’s just wild and so hard to make sense of. The FBI is now saying they’re treating this as a possible terrorist act, and they think it was fueled by antisemitic hate. That’s a big deal. They also said the man is from Egypt and had overstayed his visa. He got arrested right there on the scene, and from what we know, it seems like he acted alone.
Leaders are speaking up — and people are shaken
A lot of folks, including some big political names, are speaking out. Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis said what happened was horrible and clearly an act of hate. Senator Chuck Schumer also talked about it, calling it antisemitic violence. And honestly, it’s not just this one thing — people have been worried about rising hate crimes for a while now, especially against Jewish communities. This attack is only making those fears grow. It just shows how heated and dangerous things have gotten, especially with everything going on in Gaza and around the world.
What happens next? Still a lot of questions
The FBI is still looking into the case, and they’re asking people who were there to come forward if they saw anything. It’s scary to think that something like this could happen at an event that was supposed to be peaceful. And for a lot of people, especially in Boulder, it’s going to take a long time to feel safe at something like this again. There's still so much we don't know — like how the guy got those weapons and what pushed him to do this. But for now, everyone’s just trying to make sense of it all and support the victims.
A Quiet Sunday Event Took a Dark Turn
So this all happened on Sunday, June 1st, at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado. People came together for what was supposed to be a calm, respectful event. The group hosting it — Run for Their Lives — wanted to bring attention to Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. It was peaceful, you know? No shouting or chaos. Just people holding signs, talking, supporting each other. Many of them were older folks. But then, in just a few seconds, things flipped. A man came into the crowd with some kind of homemade flamethrower. He also had firebombs — Molotov cocktails. Six people were burned. One of them, sadly, is in critical condition.
