Boulder attack witness reveals why he didn’t try to stop suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, ‘I’ve got two kids and…’

Jun 02, 2025 08:43 PM IST

Several people were hospitalized with burns after Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, tossed Molotov cocktails at a group in Boulder, Colorado.

A man who witnessed the shocking attack on a group of people in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday afternoon, June 1, has revealed why he did not try to stop the suspect. Eight people were hospitalized with burns after Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, tossed Molotov cocktails at a group that had gathered in support of Israeli hostages.

An FBI team investigating an attack on demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, at the scene on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Eli Imadali / AFP)(AFP)

A witness named Brian told FOX31’s Jeremy Hubbard that he did not intervene because he was afraid of repercussions to his family. “You see all these hate crimes that are going on around the country, things that are happening to Jews all around the country, and I’ve got two kids and despite my my initial instinct to run into this situation it’s once I was there, I realized how dangerous it was, which is one of the reasons why I didn’t go and and tackle this guy,” Brian told Hubbard. “But like I didn’t want to do anything that would affect my family.”

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the five burn victims’

The attack took place during a peaceful weekly demonstration held by Run for Their Lives, a group which described itself as an apolitical organization that has the only mission of “walking peacefully to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza.” “Our thoughts and prayers are with the five burn victims from today’s attack for a speedy recovery,” the group said in a statement after the attack, kxan reported. “We thank law enforcement and the fire department for their quick response and to the doctors and nurses working to heal.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said the incident is being investigated as a “targeted terror attack.” Deputy Director Dan Bongino added that the FBI believes the attack was “ideologically motivated violence,” according to “early information, the evidence and witness accounts.”

Leo Terrell, head of the antisemitism task force at the Justice Department, condemned the attack. “This was not an isolated incident,” Terrell said, according to ABC News. “This antisemitic terrorist attack is part of a horrific and escalating wave of violence targeting Jews and their supporters simply for being Jewish or standing up for Jewish lives.”

Terrell noted that the attack took place on the eve of a Jewish holiday, Shavuot, “making it all the more chilling and cruel.”

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