An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned in Sunday’s alleged terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, shares a message for the rest of Americans, saying, “We are better than this,” before asking, “What the hell is going on in our country?”
Barbara Steinmetz, a Holocaust survivor and the eldest of the 12 victims wounded in Sunday’s Boulder terror attack, told NBC News that she and other members of the group Run for Their Lives were “peacefully” advocating for the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas when they were suddenly firebombed.
“We’re Americans. We are better than this,” the 88-year-old told the outlet after she was asked if she had a message for the rest of the country. “That’s what I want them to know. That they be kind and decent human beings.”
Steinmetz, who NBC reported still appeared rattled after being burned in the attack by a man armed with a “makeshift flamethrower,” said that what happened “has nothing to do with the Holocaust, it has to do with a human being that wants to burn other people.”
“It’s about what the hell is going on in our country,” Steinmetz added. “What the hell is going on?”
Illegal alien Mohamed Sabry Soliman — who had overstayed his visa — has been accused of attempted murder and committing a hate crime, among other charges after authorities say he used a makeshift flamethrower to attack Jewish Americans and Israel supporters in Boulder on Sunday.
Following the attack, President Donald Trump declared that terrorism “WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America.”
“He came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly,” Trump said of Soliman in a Truth Social post, adding, “He must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy.”
“Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law,” the president continued. “This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland.”
“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” President Trump concluded in his post.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, proclaimed that “all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.”
In light of yesterday’s horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 2, 2025
By Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the 45-year-old terror suspect’s wife and offspring had been detained and were being held by immigration officials.
Notably, the attack in Boulder comes after last month’s arrest of 31-year-old, Chicago-born Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC.
These events have transpired in the wake of antisemitic sentiments running rampant in the West following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against Israel and massacre of Jews, which prompted Israel to respond, giving terrorists the chance to spread anti-Israel propaganda globally by placing their weaponry and operations inside in civilian areas such as schools and hospitals.
Despite Israel heavily prioritizing protecting civilians — more than other countries’ militaries engaged in a war — this move by Hamas terrorists puts Gazan citizens in harm’s way, allowing them to create civilian casualties and use the events for propaganda purposes, sparking global outrage against Israel and getting the world to fall into the hands of terrorists by parroting anti-Israel talking points and potentially galvanizing people like Soliman and Rodriguez to carry out their own terror attacks.
Authorities noted that both the Boulder and Washington, DC, suspects yelled, “Free Palestine” while carrying out their attacks.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
