After an attack Sunday in Boulder left 12 injured, including a holocaust survivor, law enforcement descended on a home off Colorado Springs’ east side where the alleged attacker, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, lives.

By Monday morning, there was little evidence of police activity except for an apparent smashed window and a temporary screen in place. There was no remaining yellow caution tape nor police vehicles.

The area around 2316 Washo Circle seems normal enough. It’s in unincorporated El Paso County, sits next to a community park and is in a generally quiet area. But then, following Soliman’s arrest, law enforcement broke the door down, neighbors said.

One neighbor, who declined to be named, said the entire event simply makes her cry as everything about the family appeared so normal.

“There was never any aggression or signs of it,” she said of Soliman, 45. “I’d see him maybe once per week, but I think he works in Denver. ”

She said his wife, whose name she did not know, would occasionally cook food and share it with her family while their kids played together. She called the family very structured.

The man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a group participating in a peaceful demonstration on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder filed an asylum claim in September 2022 after coming into the United States on a visitor visa the month before, federal officials said.

He attempted to purchase a firearm but, due to his citizenship status, could not obtain one, investigators said at a news briefing on Monday.

Soliman, 45, was booked into the Boulder County jail late Sunday night after the attack, which federal authorities are calling an “act of terrorism.”

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed on social media that federal agents were involved and are investigating it as an “ideologically motivated” attack.

Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, was charged Monday with a federal hate crime, according to documents provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The offense carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The injured ranged in age from 52 to 88 years old. Soliman is accused of initiating the attack after yelling “free Palestine.”

On Monday, kids’ bikes lay strewn on lawns and porches with obvious signs of play around the home of Soliman. A nearby park hosted dog walkers and basketball players, who said the entire area is quiet and low-key.

The neighbor said one of her kids saw the family loading their car with several bags and a lighter on Saturday. She said Soliman looked “unraveled” as that happened, compared to a softer look for which she was more familiar.

And when she saw the video of the attack on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, she said she saw a completely different person than she knew.

After her daughter saw the family loading their vehicle, it left hurriedly, which she said was “awkward.” It’s not clear who was driving.

She has lived in the area for roughly two years, she said, adding that Soliman and his family were there before her.

But after the attack and arrest, Soliman’s wife went to a Colorado Springs Police Department station and turned in a phone, according to a police affidavit obtained by The Gazette.

When asked, the neighbor said she had no idea where the family may have gone. But she did say, while not an overtly political person herself, the actions of Soliman were “b—–it” and brought danger into a community where many kids live and play.

“It’s not a shock, given the state of the world, but this hits very close to home for me,” the neighbor said. “I really can’t say anything bad about them. … I would have never guessed this would happen.”