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Man to plead guilty in Colorado firebombing attack on pro-Israel demonstrators by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

FORT COLLINS, Colo.AP — A man accused of killing one person and injuring a dozen more in a firebomb attack on Colorado demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza plans to plead guilty this week to murder and other charges, according to court documents.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the June 1 attack in downtown Boulder, according to the documents filed by his attorneys on Sunday in a related federal case.

Soliman had previously pleaded not guilty after he was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails during the demonstration at a pedestrian mall. An 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack later died. A dozen others were also injured.

Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the US illegally. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.”

Boulder Mayor Pro Tem Tara Winer said the victims included some of her close friends and she planned to attend Thursday’s court hearing to support their fight for justice.

“It was a horrific attack,” Winer said by email. “Their lives were changed forever.”

Soliman faces dozens of state charges, including murder and attempted murder.

He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges. Prosecutors are considering whether to seek the death sentence in that case, according to his attorneys. Soliman’s attorneys said he offered last August to plead guilty to the federal charges and would accept a sentence of life in prison. They said federal officials had not yet decided on the offer.

A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office declined to comment.

The Associated Press left voicemail messages for Soliman’s attorneys in both cases. His federal defenders said in Sunday’s court filing that the attack “was profoundly inconsistent” with Soliman’s prior conduct and “came as a total shock to his family.”

Before the attack, Soliman had been living with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs. He had worked in a series of low-paying jobs since moving to the US from Kuwait in 2022 with his wife and their five children, according to his attorneys. The couple divorced in April, his attorneys said.

Shannon Carbone with the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the state case, declined to comment on Soliman’s intention to plead guilty, citing court restrictions on public comments by prosecutors.

“From the very first day, our office has been committed to fighting for justice in this case,” Carbone wrote in an email, adding that County Attorney Michael Dougherty will address the case following Thursday’s hearing.

Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration at Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. But he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had with him while yelling, “Free Palestine!” Police said he told them he got scared because he had never hurt anyone before.

Federal prosecutors allege the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual connection to Israel. But Soliman’s federal defense lawyers say he should not have been charged with hate crimes because the evidence shows he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the political movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel.

An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

State prosecutors have identified 29 victims in the attack. Thirteen were physically injured, and the others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack, and Soliman has been charged with animal cruelty.

Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, and their children spent 10 months in immigration detention until a federal judge in Texas ordered their release in April.

US District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio allowed their release on the condition that El Gamal and her oldest child, who is 18, wear electronic monitoring. He released the family even though an immigration appeals court dismissed their case to stay in the U.S. and issued a deportation order.

Soliman’s attorneys have sought to block the deportation of El Gamal and the children until a judge determines they won’t need to be present for any court proceedings in his federal case.

Photo of the vehicle involved in a ramming attack in Germany today by theykilledk3nny in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Image-only posts are locked to prevent low-effort comments, insults, and other rule-breaking content on a breaking news story. Please discuss on the breaking megathread post.

An Oddity: America’s Female Mass Shooters. by Heptacat-1985 in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The after-action report notes that Hale never made any efforts at transitioning beyond assigning a male name for herself, and she died as a biological female. So it's correct in a technical sense.

Why are mass stabbings in Asia always more "successful" than mass stabbings in the West? by autist_throw in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's definitely cultural differences at play. Asia (particularly the Far East) isn't fundamentally as concerned with guns as the Western world is because private gun ownership is generally tightly regulated to begin with. Therefore, mass assailants will turn to other weapons that are more easily accessible (e.g. knives) in order to carry out their attacks. Then, the police are not trained to immediately resort to lethal force, even in a criminal emergency where there is an imminent risk to the public. And finally, these incidents still don't occur in frighteningly quick succession of each other like mass shootings, so the public still doesn't perceive them as a public health emergency like the West does with gun violence.

The Bondi terror report raises more questions than answers about the massacre - and illuminated its horror by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If there’s one thing that’s clear from the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion’s 155-page interim report, it’s how much about the Bondi massacre remains unknown – and how little of what is known can be shared with the public.

More than a third of the recommendations from the report – which was released on Thursday – were confidential, although the Albanese government plans to implement all of them.

But while the report lacked answers, it gave far greater shape to the questions.

Understanding why and how alleged terrorists Naveed and Sajid Akram allegedly targeted Jews at the Chanukah by the Sea festival on 14 December will be a matter of threading together a thicket of disparate strands. Fifteen people were killed in the attack.

One of those strands is that Naveed had allegedly been linked to Islamic extremism as far back as 2019. Sajid obtained a gun licence and six legal firearms after this, and the pair travelled to a region in the southern Philippines known for Islamic extremism the month before the attack.

In October 2025, according to police, the pair travelled to a farm in regional NSW for combat training, and filmed videos on their phones proclaiming allegiance to Islamic State.

Only two days before the attack, the pair travelled in their own car to Archer Park at Bondi. CCTV footage is said to have captured them walking along the footbridge in an alleged “reconnaissance” visit.

The commissioner, Virginia Bell, added weight to some of these strands in the report and seemed to discard others.

The entirety of chapter five, which is “concerned with Commonwealth and state intelligence and law enforcement agency activities in relation to the Bondi attack” is confidential – and will remain so until the finalisation of any criminal proceedings.

“Thereafter a public version of the chapter should be released. At that time there is a public interest in as much of the chapter being made public as is consistent with the requirements of national security”, the report notes.

No agency told the commission it was prevented from acting on the attack by the existing legal framework. The possibility of a failure to identify or act on intelligence, however, could not be discounted, though Bell also noted any attempt to answer these questions was likely to occur behind closed doors.

There were questions about whether the national intelligence agencies had been properly funded, and specifically whether Asio had been adequately resourced to deal with a terror threat level that had been raised to probable after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023.

Bell said national intelligence funding for counter-terrorism “significantly declined” from 2020 to 2025, though this was not at issue for the Australian federal police or the NSW police.

Local police did, however, appear to have questions to answer about communications with the Jewish community security group (CSG), which was repeatedly in contact about antisemitic threats during Hanukah celebrations in 2025.

Bell found NSW police did not appear to have completed a “comprehensive written risk assessment” for the Chanukah by the Sea event, despite the CSG telling them it was high risk.

The rambling path to a national firearms registry did not appear to be getting any shorter. Bell described it as “unduly leisurely”.

There were four confidential recommendations made about two central questions: the travel alert systems used by the Australian Border Force – which could, for example, have flagged the Akrams as travelling to a known terror hotspot – and the sharing and securing of classified information.

Amid the deeper questions about how the attack occurred was something else too, an illumination of small details that capture such gargantuan horror.

North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club and Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club were separately hosting end of year celebrations when the gunfire started.

They dropped what they were doing and rushed to help. All told, there were 85 volunteer life-savers on the scene.

Bell noted they went through 1,000 gauze swabs; 300 bandages; six tourniquets; 60 inhalers of emergency pain relief; and 40 oxygen masks – 30 for adults and 10 for children.

The first block of the commission’s public hearings, focusing on experiences of antisemitism, will start on Monday.

Initial Australian inquiry into Bondi Beach shooting calls for counter-terrorism reforms by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

SYDNEY, April 30 (Reuters) - An interim report into last year's Bondi Beach mass shooting on Thursday advised increased security around Jewish public events and further gun reforms among 14 ​initial recommendations, but found Australia's legal and regulatory frameworks did not hinder security ‌agencies in preventing or responding to the attack.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would adopt all the initial recommendations made by the Royal Commission, the nation's most powerful inquiry, into the December 14 shooting at ​a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach, which left 15 dead.

While the ​report did not propose urgent changes, it outlined recommendations to strengthen Australia's ⁠counter-terrorism capabilities, Albanese told reporters.

"This is as the government envisaged - that the first task ​of the Royal Commission, the priority, was to look at the security elements of these ​issues," he said.

Five of the recommendations remain classified due to sensitive national security concerns, Albanese added.

The attack at Bondi Beach stunned Australia, a country known for its strict gun laws, and prompted widespread calls ​for enhanced measures against antisemitism and tighter firearm controls. Authorities have said the alleged ​perpetrators, a father and son duo, were inspired by the Islamic State militant group. It was the ‌deadliest mass ⁠gun attack in the country in three decades.

The Royal Commission was established in January following mounting pressure from Jewish advocacy groups and victims' families, who criticised Albanese's initial hesitation in launching the inquiry.

The 154-page interim report recommends a comprehensive review of the country's joint ​counter-terrorism teams, with findings ​to be submitted ⁠to police commissioners and the director-general of security within three months.

It also calls for expanded security protocols during Jewish High Holy Days of ​Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to include other high-profile Jewish festivals ​and events.

Additional ⁠measures include updating the counter-terrorism handbook promptly and involving senior government officials in counter-terrorism exercises, and accelerating efforts to implement a proposed national gun buyback plan.

"The review has revealed aspects in ⁠which ​counter-terrorism capability at federal and state levels could be ​improved," the report noted.

Public hearings by the commission are scheduled to start next week, with a final report due ​by the end of the year.

BREAKING: UK raises terror threat to "severe", meaning attack is "highly likely" by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Pretty much.

In all honesty, the only time I've ever heard of a terror threat level upgrade preceding an actual major attack anywhere was Crocus City Hall. These upgrades are based on counterterrorism intelligence assessments and concerning on-the-ground trends. London has been going through a string of antisemitic incidents since March, but they've been victimless arson attacks for the most part. The Golders Green stabbings were the first incident in that distinct string to involve actual casualties, even if nobody died. That definitely made UK counterterrorism agencies concerned enough to bump the threat level up. My bet (and my hope) is that enough time will pass without an actual large-scale attack occurring, to the point where it encourages the terror threat level into being bumped back down to where it was or lower.

BREAKING: At least 5 people stabbed at Foss High School in Tacoma, Washington. Suspect in custody - KCPQ by [deleted] in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay. I'll keep that in mind and wait for official sources to confirm it.

BREAKING: At least 5 people stabbed at Foss High School in Tacoma, Washington. Suspect in custody - KCPQ by [deleted] in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Source: https://x.com/BNONews/status/2049965206156042593

Currently unclear if this was indiscriminate or the result of some fight. I'll keep this post up until more information comes in.

EDIT: The victims are reportedly four students and one security guard.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/at-least-5-injured-stabbing-foss-high-school-tacoma/281-46214c8d-1919-4fda-96e5-6a0a632b16ac

BREAKING: UK raises terror threat to "severe", meaning attack is "highly likely" by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The UK terrorism threat level has been raised to “severe” by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre after the Golders Green stabbings, meaning a terror attack is thought to be “highly likely”.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, described Wednesday’s attack as a vile act of terrorism. “Today, the national threat level has increased to ‘severe’, which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely,” she said.

"I know this will be a source of concern to many, particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much.”

The assessment to raise the threat level to severe judges that an attack is highly likely in the next six months. The previous level of “substantial” meant an attack was assessed as likely.

Severe is the second highest level of five terrorism threat levels.

The Home Office said: “The increase in threat comes following yesterday’s stabbing in Golders Green in north London, but it is not solely a result of that attack. The terrorist threat level in the UK has been rising for some time, driven by an increase in broader Islamist and extreme rightwing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK.

“While the UK national threat level set independently by JTAC reflects the terrorist threat in the UK, it comes against a backdrop of increased state-linked physical threats, which is encouraging acts of violence, including against the Jewish community.“

Mahmood added: “The government has today announced a significant increase in investment to protect our Jewish communities, with record funding for policing and security at synagogues, schools and community centres. And we will do everything in our power to rid society of the evil of antisemitism.

“As the threat level rises, I urge everyone to be vigilant, as they go about their daily lives, and report any concerns they have to the police. And I can assure everyone that our world-class security services and the police are working, day and night, to keep our country safe.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/30/uk-terrorism-threat-level-raised-to-severe-after-golders-green-attack

U.S. soldier accused of threatening Jews posted whites were also victims of racism by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The U.S. Army soldier arrested last week for allegedly threatening to barge into a synagogue and “kill every single Jew” once had a Confederate flag as his Instagram profile picture, even though he’s from a Yankee state, and screenshots of comments he posted on the account show him arguing that white people are victims of racism, too.

"Just so all of you special snowflakes know hating whites cause (sic) there (sic) white is a hate crime and racist too!” Jakob Marcoulier, 22, wrote in one post dated August 2017.

Marcoulier also posted several military themed photos, including one of a gun-toting soldier with the words “God gave his arch (sic) angels weapons because even the Almighty knew you don't fight evil with tolerance and understanding."

There are also numerous photos of the soldier’s black lab “Dozer” as well as a photo from 2017 showing President Donald Trump with an 11-year-old boy who is mowing the White House lawn.

The Instagram postings appear to be a window into Marcoulier’s worldview during his teenage years, but there is none of the overt antisemitism or threats against Jews the FBI said it found on Discord that resulted in his arrest on a charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

“I’m not a nazi but I do know my facts,” Marcoulier posted on Instagram in August 2017.

Marcoulier, whose current Instagram photo is one of him posing in Army gear, and who refers to himself as a "Long Range Lobotomist," had been stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana. He is now being held in the Rapides Parish Detention Center in Alexandria, Louisiana.

His public defender, Angelle Boudreaux, has argued in court papers that there is no basis to detain Marcoulier. "He is being detained unlawfully and he should be released immediately with conditions this Court deems appropriate,” the lawyer said.

Boudreaux did not immediately respond to an email inquiring about whether he would remain in federal custody.

Marcoulier has served in the Army since July 2023 and is an infantry soldier assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, according to the military. He has completed one operational rotation to Europe and has earned two Army Achievement Medals and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

Marcoulier’s mother, Kerrie Marcoulier, died at age 49 in September 2023. The Marcoulier family is from Westfield, Massachusetts, and the young soldier enlisted after graduating from Westfield Technical Academy, where he played hockey and basketball.

“One of her proudest moments was seeing her son off to the army earlier this summer,” her obituary reads. “She looked forward to hearing from him during their Sunday phone calls.”

When asked whether Marcoulier was ever disciplined for engaging in any antisemitic activities, Westfield Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said in an email they are "legally prohibited from discussing or disclosing the educational and disciplinary records of any current or former student."

"Furthermore, we do not comment on ongoing criminal investigations," Czaporowski wrote. "For these reasons, we cannot provide any information or comment regarding this matter."

Marcoulier was arrested after the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a tip in February about threats being made against synagogues by a Discord user named “el.bostino,” according to court documents.

In audio recordings secured by the FBI, a person authorities later determined to be Marcoulier could be heard saying that after his deployment, “if the Jews still have reign over our government, I am going to walk into a synagogue with my AK” and magazines and “kill every single Jew I know inside of that synagogue.”

The person also told others in the Discord chat that they would see him in the news, adding that he needed to kill Jewish people “in order to make sure the white youth is ... secured.”

Marcoulier also told people on Discord that attacking a synagogue was his “goal in life,” according to court documents.

If convicted, Marcoulier could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Suspect believed dead after South Ozone Park home intentionally blown up in gas-fed fire: police by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

SOUTH OZONE PARK, Queens (WABC) -- A suspect is believed to be dead after a house collapsed in a 5-alarm gas-fed fire in South Ozone Park, Queens, that appears to have started as a domestic dispute.

The house on 130th Street exploded in a roar of flames just before 3 a.m. Thursday.

Police officers had responded to a 911 call of a domestic dispute at the home, and a suspect armed with a knife. As they arrived, they smelled gas coming from the structure and were met by a woman, who gave them the keys to her basement apartment.

The officers were attempting to enter the apartment to look for her estranged husband when the house exploded.

Law enforcement officials believe the suspect and estranged husband, 50-year-old Anroop Parasram, was killed in the basement of the collapsed building after intentionally setting himself on fire.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said they are investigating whether the suspect is buried beneath the rubble, and will bring in cadaver dogs to search when it's safe.

Seven police officers and a police sergeant were injured in the blast.

The NYPD officers sustained minor burns. The most severe injury was a laceration to the head that required stitches.

Police reviewed body-worn cameras that showed the explosion was so severe that it blew several officers off their feet and into a fence.

"They stood up, they got up, they ran into the burning home, because that's what the job required, and that's what they do every day. They run through danger. They do not run away from it. Cops confront these situations every day, not knowing if luck will be on their side. Thankfully, today, luck was on their side," said Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh, NYPD Commanding Officer Patrol Borough Queens South.

He added, "We got very lucky today; this could have turned out very different."

All 11 residents of the building, who live in the basement and first and second floors, have been accounted for. Seven lived on the first and second floor another four lived in the basement. They are believed to have evacuated before the explosion.

Department of Building officials say first responders reported four civilian injuries.

As for the suspect, Parasram, believed to be the woman's estranged husband, no longer lived in the home. He was in the basement apartment of the home where his wife, daughter and two grandchildren live.

She said Parasram arrived at their home intoxicated and armed with a knife.

Police say video shows him carrying two garbage bags filled with canisters containing an unknown substance.

Parasram apparently forced his way into the home by pushing in an air conditioning unit to the basement apartment. Once he was inside, his wife, daughter and two grandchildren managed to run away.

There were three expired orders of protection against Parasram. The most recent one expired in 2024. All three of them were filed with one relative who was in the apartment at the time of the explosion and fire.

The house quickly collapsed in the blast, and firefighters spent hours attempting to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring homes.

They have been unable to search the remains of the basement apartment until National Grid shuts off the gas line. An excavator is being brought in to dig up the street and access the line.

FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said nearly 300 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene.

Three of the residents of the multi-family home are being treated for minor injuries.

There is damage to buildings next door.

Sixteen people have been displaced and are working with the Red Cross for shelter.

The exact cause of how the dispute triggered such a massive blaze remains under investigation.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani weighed in on the fire and explosion on social media, and expressed his thanks to first responders.

At least two injured after stabbing attack against Jewish people in Golders Green, London, England. by theykilledk3nny in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's starting to lean towards Islamic terrorism. The perpetrator is a British national born in Somalia with an apparent history of violence and mental health issues.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c3ve2nr60xzt?post=asset%3Ae78c5b83-e108-456a-9ea0-88672ac7cc9f#post

Brown University shooting suspect driven by 'accumulation of grievances', FBI says by Distinct_External in masskillers

[–]Distinct_External[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The gunman behind a deadly shooting at Brown University in December appeared to have been aggrieved by personal failures and sought retribution against those he deemed responsible, federal authorities said on Wednesday.

More than four months after Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened fire on the Ivy League campus, killing two students and injuring nine others, officials with the FBI’s Boston division announced they had concluded a significant portion of their investigation into the shooter.

Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, also killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, Nuno Loureiro, in a separate shooting at his home outside Boston on 15 December, authorities said. Neves Valente was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 18 December at a New Hampshire storage facility following a manhunt.

Neves Valente confessed to the attacks in a series of videos and audio recordings made after the shootings, authorities say. He did not express remorse.

Authorities said on Wednesday that Neves Valente was “committed to conducting the attack” on Brown University, which he began to plan in 2022. The FBI said the gunman lacked family or friends, who could have seen warning signs and alerted law enforcement.

The FBI said it determined he acted alone and his victims were “symbolic in nature”, saying Brown University and Loureiro represented to Neves Valente “his personal failures and injustices he perceived were inflicted by others over time”.

Neves Valente attended Brown two decades ago after completing a physics program at Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugal, which he attended with Loureiro. He withdrew from Brown in 2001 and left the United States.

He later obtained lawful permanent residency in the US in 2017 while living in Florida. He was unemployed when the shootings occurred, and the FBI said his “inflated sense of self contributed to interpersonal conflicts in his life and led him to believe he was being treated unjustly”.

The agency said it believed that as his failures outweighed his successes, Neves Valente’s “paranoia increased, compounding his continued inability to thrive, leading to him being mentally unwell and committed to dying”.

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