Flames of Hate
We operate in a hybrid threat environment where emboldened criminals act with impunity, police are increasingly handcuffed by legal and societal constraints, and mental health strains erode community stability. Dysfunctional families fuel instability, while political and ideological violence—once unthinkable—is becoming normalized, driven by media influence and amplified by social media echo chambers. Anyone with an ideological, political, or even branded stance on social issues is at risk. The attack in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1, 2025, exemplifies this dangerous reality and reveals critical lessons in mindset, awareness, and survival.
Incident Overview: A Planned Act of Violence
At 1:26 p.m., Boulder Police responded to reports of a man at the county courthouse on Pearl Street using a makeshift flamethrower and hurling Molotov cocktails at “Run for Their Lives,” a grassroots group advocating for Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The attacker, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, shouted “Free Palestine” as he targeted the peaceful demonstrators. Reports initially indicated four women and four men, ages 52 to 88 were injured or hospitalized, one critically. Later reports state there were up to 15 injured. Soliman, who planned the attack for a year to “kill all Zionist people,” threw two of his 18 incendiary devices before catching himself on fire, halting his assault. He was arrested without incident, showing no remorse, with a bandage over one ear from his burns. According to investigators, he had months earlier tried to buy a firearm and obtain his concealed carry permit, but was denied, likely because of his immigration status.
Watch as the suspect tries to throw an incendiary device at victims but accidentally ignites himself during the attack here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/boulder-terror-attack-witness-describes-horrific-scene-pro-israel-rally
Witnesses described chaos. Lisa Trunquist, a witness, heard glass breaking and felt heat on her legs, then saw multiple people burning. Brian H. called it “the most horrific thing” he’d seen—burning skin, blood, and panic. A video shows a backpack garden sprayer near a tree, likely the reported “homemade flamethrower.”
Denial in the Face of Danger
The attack exposed a catastrophic mindset failure. Trunquist said, “It is common for the group to be heckled, but we never thought our peaceful march would be met with violence.” This violates the first of three key mindset shifts required for your personal protection: No matter how you live your life, someone may still attack you. Her belief system was misaligned with reality, especially after two Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025, for similar ideological motives. The group’s weekly march at a consistent time and place made them easy targets.
Turnquist stated that she initially thought the attacker seemed out of place because he was wearing landscaping clothing and carrying a sprayer. According to USA Today, she said, "Something said keep on walking by him." This reflects that instinctive or intuitive feeling known as "The Gift of Fear," a phrase coined by Gavin DeBecker that I often discuss in my courses. Others overlooked what were possibly crucial threat indicators—Soliman’s yellow vest, a sign he may have tried to pass as a worker or gardener, his activities in the bushes, and his stockpile of Molotov cocktails. I am sure there were more indicators. People missed these because they weren’t looking for a politically charged attack, assuming peace would prevail since they themselves were peaceful and projected that mindset onto everyone else. This mindset breakdown, as I discuss in Threat Proof Family, increased their vulnerability.
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Trunquist said she was going to confront the attacker until he acted like he was going to throw a bottle at her. The instinct to confront an armed attacker, despite being unarmed and untrained, was brave but reckless. I ask those who consider confronting a violent criminal: What did you think you could accomplish? An athletic but older woman with no weapons or mindset training had no chance against a man intent on mass casualties. This poor woman saw the tragedy unfold and was able to keep her wits about her and offer aid. We have to give her credit for that.
See Trunquist’s interviews and footage from the scene here: https://apnews.com/article/molotov-cocktails-boulder-attack-injured-f2af62386989f6b79a5e1844a2c9dce5
Stress and Misplaced Attention
One witness said, “I heard a crash, felt heat, and saw a person on fire. My focus got extremely narrow.” This statement is a good description of how tunnel vision can take hold and how our limited attentional resources need to be directed at the right things. This is why I teach performance optimization in all my classes. The initial instinctive survival response, disbelief delay, and intuitive attentional issues are common. To counter those, one of the first things I tell everyone from the beginner to the elite operator to everyday citizen defenders is to take a breath and take a look around to engage your higher brain function, reduce stress, break tunnel vision, and build your situational awareness so you can develop a quick plan based on the information at hand. This man could have easily been attacked and become just an additional victim. I admire his desire to help others, but that tunnel vision and lack of threat awareness could have contributed to the casualty count.
Watch bystanders treat the wounded and mostly ignore the obvious threat: https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cev478djx4zo
The Three Selfs: Self-Defense, Self-Extract, Self-Treat
When injured in an attack, I teach the "Three Selfs" to maximize survival. Here’s how they apply:
The first self is self-defense, and the purpose of this rule is that the greatest threat to you is not the injury you just suffered, but the person who will continue to try to injure you. That means before you work on treatment, you work on defending yourself from further harm. Another important aspect is that you should always plan for the attacker to aggress against you and continue to attack. Some of you might recognize this as the Plus One Rule, which I also teach: if the attacker is willing to attack you once, they’re probably willing to attack you again if given the chance; if you see one weapon, they probably have another; if you think they’re alone, they probably have an associate. In Boulder, no one confronted Soliman, leaving him free to act and gain access to additional weapons. Imagine the carnage if it were a group of terrorists versus a lone wolf.
The second self is self-extract. That means even if you’re injured, do what you can to get out of the area, or what we call off the “X”—the precise spot where the attacker wants you to be, and where an effective attack was just launched. I have witnessed multiple soldiers I served with get wounded right in front of me and extract themselves off the “x.” In one case, two or three steps were enough to provide me with cover and the ability to treat them. I understand the need to stop, drop, and roll if you’re on fire, and that’s probably wise if you can hope others will help you. However, if you’re capable, you need to find a way to escape the attacker. When helping others, encourage them to get off the X and out of the area at the earliest feasible moment. You do not want to provide continued access to the threat. The Boulder crowd stayed put, vulnerable to further attacks, and it was only because their assailant decided to stop that the damage wasn’t much worse.
The last self is self-treat. In this case, there were multiple people around that could aid the injured, but that won’t always be true. Very often, if they’re doing the right thing, like disabling the attacker, they may not be immediately available to help with your medical treatment. To the degree possible, you have to be ready to treat your injuries because others simply may not be able to do it in a timely manner. If you remember the Three Selves anytime you’re wounded, you’ll have principles to live by. The crowd ignored these, tending to victims while Soliman remained a threat.
A Study in Inaction
BBC footage shows Soliman striding confidently, Molotov cocktails in hand, unafraid of the crowd. Equally disturbing is the number of people unbothered by an active killer in their midst—victim-like behavior from those fortunate enough to live without violence. People tended to the injured, turning their backs on the threat, while young, capable men wandered without concern. Some filmed the chaos, prioritizing phones over action. A few addressed the killer, but none appropriately with overwhelming, aggressive, deadly force. This was an opportune moment for someone with a concealed weapon to end the threat, yet no one acted. I’ve never seen an attacker so obvious yet so invisible due to disbelief and minds not capable of accepting a threat to their peaceful lives. Good times make weak men.
Watch the suspect taunting the crowd nearly unopposed with incendiary devices in his hand, and possibly with the “improvised flamethrower” seen behind him on the ground: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/most-horrific-thing-ive-ever-seen-witness-describes-attack-on-pro-israel-demonstrators-in-boulder#google_vignette
I’m not victim-shaming the injured—my thoughts are with them. But I’m unforgiving of healthy, capable men who didn’t swarm Soliman with improvised weapons—planters, bikes, chairs—and disable him without remorse. They outsourced their safety to police, violating mindset shift #2: You are responsible for your safety; do not outsource it solely to 911 and hope. Bravery and purpose have been replaced with the narcissism of modern phones. Another video captures Soliman lighting another Molotov cocktail, which exploded on him, injuring his ear. Why were people still there? Why not execute a run-hide-fight plan? Disbelief delay is understandable initially, but after multiple attacks, your brain must engage. If it doesn’t, you’re unprepared for hybrid threats. Instead, backs were turned, and at best, a few people hurled unkind words at an active terrorist.
Risk Assessment Failures
This incident highlights five risk assessment oversights:
Known Time and Place: Weekly marches at a fixed location are prime targets, like the New York healthcare CEO attack at a scheduled conference. Attackers thrive on predictability, especially when it is repeated.
Vulnerable Participants: Many were older or physically limited, requiring heightened vigilance or protectors. Without the right mindset, training, tools, or capable, brave people to help defend them, they were sitting ducks until the police could arrive. As is true with most active threat incidents, the attack was largely over when they arrived.
Ideological Risk: The event was politically charged in a hybrid threat environment—traditional crime, mental health issues, family instability, and ideological violence, all emboldened by social media. Regular heckling and recent attacks on pro-Israel targets should’ve raised alarms.
No Security Plan: No lookouts, no defenders, no tools. Basic measures—concealed firearms, pepper spray, tasers—were absent despite the climate of ideological violence.
Denial of Threat: Participants assumed peace would prevail, ignoring the hybrid threat reality where any public stance draws opposition willing to intimidate, hurt, or kill.
Advice for Your Next Ideological Event
A minimal security plan could’ve changed the outcome. Designate lookouts to spot threats—Soliman’s yellow vest, bushes hideout, and garden sprayer were red flags. Train a few individuals with legal defensive tools—concealed firearms, pepper spray, tasers—to act responsibly. Even vulnerable individuals like Trunquist could carry pepper spray. When Soliman attacked, capable bystanders should’ve swarmed him with improvised weapons, led by someone rallying others to charge. Instead, denial and inaction prevailed. For any ideological event, assume chaos is possible and plan accordingly.
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Masterclass Announcement
Due to incidents like Boulder and the hybrid threat environment, I’m launching an elite personal protection and self-defense program at highthreatsystems.com. This online and in-person training is for high performers—executives and leaders—who take safety seriously for themselves, their families, and their teams. It’s practical, not a weekend commando course, and built for the real world. Details are coming soon with the first group starting in July.
Trevor Thrasher
Retired Green Beret | SWAT Officer | Counter-Terrorism Contractor
Founder, High Threat Systems
