A chaotic scene unfolded Sunday afternoon as police responded to a terror attack at an outdoor event in Boulder, Colorado, leaving eight people seriously injured.
The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian, was in the country illegally after overstaying a visa under the Biden administration’s watch, according to federal authorities.
The incident happened this past weekend at a “Run for Their Lives” walk organized to raise awareness about Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Witnesses say Soliman threw Molotov cocktails (or something similar) at people in attendance, setting them on fire while shouting “Free Palestine” and other anti-Israel slogans.
Eight victims in total were injured, ranging from 52 to 88 years old, with one victim still reportedly in “serious condition.”
Soliman now faces a collection of felony charges, including first-degree murder, though officials have not confirmed whether any victims have died of their injuries as of Monday morning. The illegal alien is currently booked in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond.
Federal immigration records reveal Soliman entered America on August 27, 2022, at Los Angeles International Airport on a non-immigrant visa. Under that visa, he was authorized to remain until February 26, 2023, but he never left the U.S. Despite overstaying his visa. The Biden administration granted Soliman work authorization in March 2023, which remained valid until March of this year, according to Fox News.
Soliman’s recent terror attack is just another example of how lax immigration enforcement from the Biden administration has allowed dangerous people to remain in America.
The event, an annual walk, is part of an effort to highlight the plight of hostages held by Hamas. Organizers told reporters that the event was apolitical and focused more on humanitarian “awareness.”
However, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser still called the attack a “hate crime,” saying the event targeted Jewish Americans peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.
“From what we know, this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted…People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser added in a written statement.
The attack comes amid a troubling rise in anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric across the country. Just weeks ago, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot in Washington, D.C., in a separate attack that authorities also labeled as terror-related, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Jewish leaders across the country are now calling on law enforcement to step up protection at religious events. The NYPD has already allegedly increased patrols around synagogues and community centers ahead of Shavuot, the Jewish holiday that began at sundown Sunday.
As authorities continue to investigate the attack, many in Boulder – and across America – may be left questioning how an illegal alien from Egypt was able to carry out such a senseless act with apparent ease.