The attack took place at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder and one person is in custody.
BOULDER, Colo. — A man wielding a makeshift flamethrower shouted “Free Palestine” and hurled an incendiary device into a gathering meant to spotlight the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza, according to law enforcement officials on Sunday. Six individuals sustained injuries, some suffering from burns.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was expected to face charges in connection with the attack the FBI was investigating as a terrorist act.
The incident erupted at the bustling Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block hub in downtown Boulder, amidst the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has heightened global tensions and led to a rise in antisemitic violence in the U.S. It occurred just over a week after another individual, who also shouted “Free Palestine,” was accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers near a Jewish museum in Washington.
“Tragically, such attacks are becoming far too frequent nationwide,” remarked Mark Michalek, the special agent leading the FBI’s Denver field office, which covers Boulder. “This exemplifies how acts of violence continue to pose severe threats to communities across our country.”
The six victims who were wounded range in age from 67 to 88 and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said.
The attack occurred as people with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza. Video from the scene shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.
Lynn Segal, 72, was among about 20 people who gathered Sunday. They had finished their march in front of the courthouse when a “rope of fire” shot in front of her and then “two big flares.”
She said the scene quickly turned chaotic as people worked to find water to put out flames and find help.
Segal, who said she is Jewish on her father’s side and has supported Palestine for more than 40 years, was concerned that she might be accused of helping the suspect because she was wearing a pro-Palestine shirt.
“There were people who were burning, I wanted to help,” she said. “But I didn’t want to be associated with the perpetrator.”
Authorities did not disclose details about Soliman but said they believe that he acted alone and that no other suspect was being sought. No criminal charges were immediately announced but officials said they would move to hold Soliman accountable. He was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities didn’t elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
FBI leaders immediately declared the attack an act of terrorism and the Justice Department denounced it as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed 10 people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the mall.
This story has been updated to correct that 10 people, not four, were killed in the Boulder grocery store shooting.
Associated Press journalists Brittany Peterson and David Zalubowski in Boulder, Colorado, Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Biesecker in Washington and Jim Mustian in New York contributed to this report.
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