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BOULDER, Colo. – An observant Jewish couple described the horror of finding out that their neighbor, whose wife recently knocked on their door with a housewarming gift, was suspected of firebombing a peaceful pro-Israel demonstration in the heart of Boulder.
The Costello family had barely begun unpacking boxes in their new Colorado Springs home when the FBI showed up at their doorstep and explained a neighbor, illegal Egyptian immigrant Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested for allegedly injuring 12 people in front of the Boulder County courthouse.
“I come home, and the FBI is waiting at my door. That’s a scary moment,” David Costello shared with Fox News Digital. “They told us, ‘You’re not in trouble,’ but then they asked if we knew what happened in Boulder.”
The Costellos said they knew of the Solimans, having met Soliman’s wife when she showed up on their front steps offering cupcakes to welcome them to the neighborhood.
“The wife came over and gave us some cupcakes,” David said. “We keep kosher, so we couldn’t eat them, but we accepted them and then we just sort of threw them away.”
Unaware of the prior interaction, FBI agents told the Costellos it was important they were aware of the terror attack due to their visible Jewish identity, the couple said, with the family proudly displaying a mezuzah on the door.
“He had to have driven right past our house to get to Boulder,” David said. “He surely saw us moving in [wearing a] tzitzit and a kippah, and my wife’s head being covered. It is really by the grace of Hashem, that we weren’t attacked.… It’s pretty obvious that we’re Jewish, like he could have easily just thrown a Molotov cocktail at our door—we don’t have an exit through the back—that would have been absolutely disastrous for us.”
Because the Costellos do not use phones or electronic devices during religious holidays, they had no access to news due to their observance of Shavuot. Their only awareness of the incident came through people knocking on their door asking for interviews and eventually the FBI sharing what had happened.
“I didn’t realize how big the story was until I turned on my phone after the holiday,” David’s wife, Rivkah, said. “We moved here to lie low, but suddenly we were in the headlines.”
The couple had left their former neighborhood due to what they described as persistent anti-Israel activism and discomfort in a Muslim-majority area. David said they were seeking “a place to go and be under the radar.”
Soliman is currently being held on a $10 million bond and faces multiple charges, including attempted murder and federal hate crimes. According to authorities, he admitted to planning the attack for over a year and expressed a desire to harm “Zionist people.”
“It’s unnerving,” Rivkah said. “They said bail was set at $10 million, but that still means there’s a possibility he could be released—and we live right across the street. We have five young children. This is terrifying.”
“I hope people understand what that means for a Jewish family living across the street from someone accused of terrorism,” she said.
WATCH: Boulder suspect attacks pro-Israel supporters
David said the holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates Jewish unity, made the timing of the FBI visit especially meaningful.
“We really felt like it was a miracle. While symbols like a mezuzah might make you a target, they also offer spiritual protection,” he said.
The couple and their family shared that their hope is that antisemitic sentiment does not continue to escalate.
“We really don’t want to move again,” David said. “But if it becomes dangerous, we may not have a choice.”
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We’re choosing to stand.
— David Costello
Despite the fear, they say the experience has only strengthened their commitment to staying visible and vocal about their faith.
“When you’re pushed, you can either disappear or stand your ground,” David said. “We’re choosing to stand.”
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