Who Is the Suspect in the Colorado Attack?

The suspect in the Boulder, Colo. attack on demonstrators rallying in support of Israeli hostages is an Egyptian citizen who had overstayed a tourist visa and was living illegally in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday.

Federal and local authorities are investigating Sunday’s incident as an act of terrorism. 

The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, entered the U.S. in August 2022 and remained after his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman. She said that Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022, but did not share details about the status of his claim.

“The Colorado terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,” McLaughlin told TIME in a statement.

Soliman was arrested Sunday after authorities said he used a makeshift flamethrower to assault participants in a weekly march called Run for Their Lives, held in downtown Boulder to draw attention to the 58 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas after the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Witnesses said he shouted “Free Palestine” as he threw an incendiary device into the crowd.

At least eight people, ranging from ages 52 to 88, were hospitalized with burns and other injuries, authorities said. Four additional victims who sustained “more minor” injuries were identified on Monday after they came forward to be interviewed, according to Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn. Boulder Police said Monday morning that none of the victims have died.

Read more: What We Know About the Victims of the Colorado Attack

Soliman, who was living in Colorado Springs, was also injured and taken to a hospital to be medically evaluated before being booked into the Boulder County Jail on multiple charges. He faces 16 counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of use of an incendiary device, and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said…