Congregation Bonai Shalom Rabbi Marc Soloway comforts attendees during a community gathering at the site of the Boulder attack. Photo by Chet Strange / AFP via Getty Images
By Hannah Feuer
June 30, 2025
An attack on a Colorado rally for Gaza hostages earlier this month has claimed the life of an 82-year-old woman, authorities said Monday.
Karen Diamond, 82, was one of eight people, ages 52 to 88, who were hospitalized for burns after molotov cocktails were thrown at them during the June 1 Run for Their Lives event, a weekly vigil and march for captives who are still held by Hamas. An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, Barbara Steinmetz, was among those injured.
Prosecutors said the suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, will be charged with first degree murder. Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to law enforcement, and told investigators he wanted to “kill all Zionist people,” according to charging documents.
“This horrific attack has now claimed the life of an innocent person who was beloved by her family and friends,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty wrote in a statement. “Our hearts are with the Diamond family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Diamond’s Jewish legacy
Diamond was deeply involved in Jewish life in her community.
She was a member of Bonai Shalom, a conservative synagogue in Boulder, where she was part of a program that made deliveries to elderly and immobile congregants. She also helped the synagogue refurbish its space after the building was badly damaged in a 2013 flood, according to a leadership award she received from the University Women’s Club at the University of Colorado Boulder.
“Although our family tends to be somewhat more secular than religious, we recognize and honor our Jewish heritage,” Diamond and her husband, Lou, wrote in a statement about why they were donating to the synagogue. They said they “greatly respect the educationally important, socially relevant and often courageous work being done by the members of Bonai Shalom and its dedicated, inspiring leaders.”
In a statement announcing her death, Bonai Shalom Rabbi Marc Soloway said, “There are no words to express the pain of this horrific loss of our beloved member and friend.”
Diamond’s two sons, Andrew and Ethan, wrote in a statement that their mom was “a beautiful soul with limitless kindness and positivity toward everyone.”
The family held a private burial on Friday before Shabbat, Rabbi Soloway said.
Prosecutors upgraded the charges against Soliman after Diamond’s death, from an attempt to commit first degree murder to two counts of first degree murder. Soliman has also been charged with federal hate crimes, to which he has pleaded not guilty.