BOULDER, Colo. >> A man posing as a gardener to get close to a group in Boulder holding a weekly demonstration for the release of hostages in Gaza planned to kill them all with Molotov cocktails, authorities said Monday.

But police said Mohamed Sabry Soliman had second thoughts and only threw two out of the 18 incendiary devices he had into the group of about 20 people, yelling “Free Palestine” and accidentally burning himself. Twelve people were injured in the Sunday attack. Soliman had gasoline in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn’t spray it on anyone but himself “because he had planned on dying.”

“He said he had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it,” police wrote in an affidavit. He didn’t carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before.”

Hate-crime charges

Soliman, 45, planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a “Zionist group,” authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. The suspect’s first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents.

“When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,” Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a press conference Monday.

Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment.

During a state court hearing Monday, Soliman appeared briefly via a video link from the Boulder County Jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Another court hearing is set for Thursday. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said.

An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people,” a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel.

Soliman’s attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing.

Suspect in U.S. illegally

Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 tourist visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X.

Soliman had applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, McLaughlin said, adding that he had not received a final decision on his application for protection. Immigrants waiting for their asylum cases to resolve may gain work permits to allow them to work in the country legally while their cases are decided.

On social media Monday, President Donald Trump blamed former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for letting Soliman into the country, although he came legally.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement Monday that he and “the entire State of Israel” were praying for the full recovery of the victims.

The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. Sunday’s attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

Six victims hospitalized

The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. All four of the latest victims had what police described as minor injuries.

Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire.

Molotov cocktails found

The volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding its weekly demonstration when video from the scene shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails.” A police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty said 16 unused Molotov cocktails were recovered by law enforcement. The devices were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said.

Soliman told investigators he constructed the devices after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients.

“He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,” the affidavit says.

Soliman also told investigators he took a concealed carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he is not a legal U.S. citizen.

Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone.

Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved to Colorado Springs three years ago, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait.

This report contains information from the New York Times.