A man who witnessed Sunday’s attack on a peaceful pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, and captured cellphone video of the suspect described the “horrific” scene in an interview with the Scripps News Group.
Police say 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman used a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device into the crowd during a peaceful weekly demonstration by the volunteer group Run for Their Lives. At least eight people were injured.
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“It's not something that I ever thought I'd experience in my life,” said Brian H., who shared video of the scene. “It is easily the most horrific thing that I've ever witnessed in my entire life, just seeing this — these people's skin falling off their bodies and blood and cuts … it was horrific.”
- Hear from Brian in the video player below:
Mark Michalek, a special agent in charge with the FBI’s Denver office, said the attack was being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Brian was out to lunch at a food hall when he started to hear shouting outside the courthouse across the street.
“I heard a man shouting and kind of erratic, just kind of pacing back and forth,” he said.
Brian told us the suspect could be heard yelling, “you’re killing my people” in an expletive-laden rant. He started recording at the tail end of the incident, and captured video of the suspect pacing back and forth with two bottles of clear liquid.
“I initially thought it was a Molotov cocktail,” Brian said.
Several small fires and burn marks could be seen on the ground. Brian also recorded video of the suspect being apprehended.
Brian said he called the police and started tending to victims, retrieving water from a nearby fountain and pouring it on those who were injured.
Brian, who is Jewish, said he felt “pessimistic” after witnessing the attack.
“The fact that this has been going on and it's only escalating [...] since October 7, is scary as hell,” Brian said, in reference to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. “You see what's happening all over the world. So it's not surprising that this thing happened. It's surprising that it happened this close to home.”
This story was originally published by Landon Haaf and Jaclyn Allen with the Scripps News Group.
