FBI Reports: Man Shouting ‘Free Palestine’ Injures 8 in Colorado with Homemade Flamethrower

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Law enforcement officials reported that a man wielding a makeshift flamethrower shouted “Free Palestine” before launching an incendiary device into a gathering that focused on raising awareness for Israeli hostages in Gaza. This act resulted in injuries to eight individuals, some suffering from burns.

The alleged perpetrator, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was detained and taken to the Boulder County jail, situated north of Denver, where he is expected to face charges related to the incident. The FBI is investigating the case as a potential terrorist act. As of now, online records have not specified when Soliman would appear in court.

This violent incident at the busy Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a popular four-block shopping area in downtown Boulder, occurs amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas that has heightened global tensions and contributed to an increase in antisemitic acts in the U.S. The attack coincided with the onset of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday known for Torah readings, and took place shortly after another “Free Palestine” activist was charged with the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy workers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Monday saying he, his wife and the entire nation of Israel were praying for the full recovery of the people wounded in the “vicious terror attack” in Colorado.

“This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews,” Netanyahu said.

Across the U.S., the New York Police Department said it has upped its presence at religious sites throughout the city for Shavuot.

“Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country,” said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, which encompasses Boulder. “This is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across the nation.”

The eight victims who were wounded range in age from 52 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.

Alex Osante of San Diego said he was having lunch on a restaurant patio across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking on the ground, a “boom” sound followed by people yelling and screaming.

In video of the scene captured by Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught on fire during the attack. A man, who later identified himself as an Israeli visiting Boulder who decided to join the group that day, ran up to Osante on the video asking for some water to help.

After the initial attack, Osante said the suspect went behind some bushes and then re-emerged and threw a Molotov cocktail but apparently accidentally caught himself on fire as he threw it. The man then took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video that Osante filmed.

As people tried to help the woman on the ground, another woman who appeared to be a participant in the event yelled to others out of the camera’s view, defending their cause, saying they don’t talk about the government but just talk about the hostages.

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.