Boulder woman, 82, dies from injuries sustained in attack on rally for Israeli hostages
Karen Diamond died as a result of 'the severe injuries that she suffered in the attack', Boulder county district attorney's office said in a statement. She died on Wednesday, according to the Boulder Jewish Community Center.
Diamond was among the people attacked while participating in a walk by Run for Their Lives, a group that advocates for the release of 50 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas since the 7 October 2023 attack.
The Boulder county district attorney's office announced that after Diamond's death, it is filing additional charges – including first-degree murder – against Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, an Egyptian man charged in the attack.
Soliman had previously been indicted on 12 hate crime counts in the 1 June attack in downtown Boulder. He was charged with trying to kill the eight people who were hurt when he threw molotov cocktails – bottles filled with flammable liquid that are ignited – as well as other people nearby.
He also allegedly injured one dog. Soliman has pleaded not guilty.
Soliman's attorney, David Kraut, entered the not guilty plea on Soliman's behalf during a hearing on Friday. Soliman was being represented by public defenders who typically do not comment on their cases to news media.
Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall. But, they say, he threw just two of his over two dozen molotov cocktails while yelling: 'Free Palestine.'
Michael Dougherty, the district attorney, said that the 'horrific attack has now claimed the life of an innocent person who was beloved by her family and friends'.
Soliman, who is also being prosecuted in state court for attempted murder and other charges, told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a 'legal citizen'.
Soliman did not speak during Friday's hearing, and he listened to translations provided by an Arabic interpreter through headphones.
The Egyptian national has been living in the US illegally with his family, according to federal authorities.
Soliman is reported to have been living in the US illegally with his family, and had posed a gardener and wore a construction vest to get close to the group before launching the attack, prosecutors allege. They say the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin.
An attack motivated by someone's political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
The attack attributed to Soliman came days after two employees at Israel's embassy in Washington DC were killed in a shooting incident outside the Capital Jewish museum. A suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged in the Washington DC attack, which is being investigated by the FBI as an act of targeted violence.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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