An 82-year-old woman injured in the June 1 attack on Boulder protesters supporting the release of Hamas hostages as died, officials said Monday – as they upgraded charges against suspect Mohamed Soliman to murder.
He will now face two murder charges in connection with the death of Karen Diamond, who ‘died tragically as a result of the severe injuries that she suffered in the attack,’ the office of Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a release.
‘This horrific attack has now claimed the life of an innocent person who was beloved by her family and friends,’ Dougherty said. ‘Our hearts are with the Diamond family during this incredibly difficult time.’
Soliman, an Egyptian national who’d been living in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children, has also been charged with an additional 66 counts in relation to 14 new victims identified through the ongoing investigation.
Mohamed Soliman now faces first-degree murder charges after an 82 year-old he’s accused of attacking with a flamethrower at a Colorado anti-Hamas rally died of her injuries
Police quickly detained Soliman at the scene after he launched an attack on Run For Their Lives peaceful protestors on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall
Soliman has also been charged with a federal hate crime.
According to his arrest affidavit, Soliman had been planning the attack for a year – waiting for his teenage daughter to graduate from high school before executing it.
She graduated just days before he launched the attack with homemade flamethrowers on a Run For Their Lives event on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall.
Karen Diamond died on June 25 and ‘there was a private burial with the family before Shabbat,’ Boulder rabbi Marc Soloway wrote in Boulder Jewish News.
Soliman is an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa after entering the US and wasnworking as an Uber driver as he allegedly planned the anti-Zionist attack for a year
Soliman drove from the home he shared in Colorado Springs, pictured, with his wife and five children to allegedly execute his attack with homemade flamethrowing devices
‘This event and the tragic loss of someone who has given so much of herself over the years to the Bonai community and beyond, has impacted us all and we are sad and horrified,’ he wrote. ‘We will need to support each other as we process this loss.’
She is survived by her husband, two sons and daughters-in-law and five grandsons.
The family has appealed for privacy.
In addition to the murder charges filed in connection with her death, ‘the amended complaint names a total of 29 victims in the attack,’ according to the release from the DA’s office.
‘Of the 29 victims, 13 suffered physical injury during the attack.
‘The complaint now contains the 2 counts of first degree murder, 52 counts of attempted first degree murder, 8 counts of first degree assault, 18 counts of attempted first degree assault, 2 counts of using an incendiary device, 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device and one count of animal cruelty.’
