Mohamed Soliman allegedly planned Molotov cocktail attack after gun purchase denial: docs

The suspect accused of bombing a gathering of pro-Israel demonstrators reported he turned to improvised explosive devices after being denied the purchase of a firearm due to his immigration status According to an affidavit filed by the Boulder Police Department -year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman reported detectives that he had taken a concealed carry class in preparation to buy a firearm but was ultimately blocked from completing the purchase because he is not a U S citizen He commented that he had previously tried to purchase a firearm but resorted to the Molotov cocktails when he could not purchase a gun because he was not a legal citizen acting U S Attorney J Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado commented in a news conference on Monday afternoon With access to guns restricted the Egyptian national revealed to executives that he turned to YouTube to learn how to construct homemade firebombs BOULDER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TERROR SUSPECT S DOABLE RADICALIZATION PROBED BY EXECUTIVES RETIRED FBI AGENTSoliman allegedly created Molotov cocktails before driving to Boulder on Sunday June and prepared for the peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators to arrive for the Run For Their Lives in encouragement of the Israeli hostages Soliman is accused of throwing two incendiary devices at the crowd Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty mentioned they have identified four additional casualties bringing the total to None of the casualties have died We're going to continue to encourage casualties and bystanders to come forward and contact law enforcement Dougherty stated in the Monday news conference But we now have casualties And later this week we'll be filing formal charges against him Bureaucrats mentioned all but two casualties have been published from area hospitals They did not note the severity of the injuries from the attack READ THE AFFIDAVIT APP USERS CLICK HEREVictims and observers observed Soliman throw what appeared to be a glass bottle which burst upon impact creating large flames the affidavit announced He also allegedly used a commercial weed sprayer as a makeshift blowtorch According to the affidavit functionaries discovered multiple glass bottles containing liquid a lighter rags an insecticide sprayer and an AR-style rifle BB gun in Soliman's silver Toyota Prius Along with the materials officers also uncovered a Quran and paperwork with the words Israel Palestine and USAID FBI RAIDS HOME OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF FIREBOMBING PRO-ISRAEL RALLY IN BOULDERIn his interview with law enforcement Soliman mentioned he bore no remorse for his actions and reiterated his intent to carry them out again if given the opportunity The affidavit noted that Soliman left behind an iPhone and a journal at his Colorado Springs home detailing his motivations and preparations for the attack Now facing a litany of charges including multiple counts of attempted first-degree murder first-degree assault and possession of incendiary devices Soliman is being held on a million bond Dougherty outlined the severe expected penalties facing Soliman if convicted on all charges related to the June attack He faces counts of attempted first-degree murder eight for attempted murder with intent and deliberation and eight for attempted murder with extreme indifference If convicted and the sentences are ordered to run consecutively he could face a maximum of years in state prison for those charges alone In addition Soliman is charged with two counts of use of an incendiary device which could add up to years if served consecutively He also faces counts of attempted use of an incendiary device carrying a prospective additional years In total the maximum feasible sentence could reach years if all convictions are handed down and run consecutively Along with charges on the state level he has also been federally charged with a hate crime involving actual or perceived race religion or national origin No one should ever be subjected to violence of any kind But our laws recognize that such violence is particularly pernicious when someone is targeted because of their race their religion or their national origin Grewell reported According to our complaint and the charges brought by D A Dougherty's office Mr Soliman stated that he had been planning this attack for a year and he acted because he hated what he called the Zionist group His next court appearance for filing charges will be Thursday June at p m MT Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this statement