A suspect is in custody after reportedly throwing an incendiary device at a group participating in an organised walk to show solidarity with hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Photo / Getty Images
A suspect is in custody after reportedly throwing an incendiary device at a group participating in an organised walk to show solidarity with hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Photo / Getty Images
The FBI is investigating a “targeted terror attack” after after six people, aged between 67 and 88, were injured in the attack at the busy Pearl Street Mall area about 1.30pm local time in Colorado.
The suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails as they took part in a walk toremember Israeli hostages still in captivity, CBS reported
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was arrested at the scene, with police officers seen pinning him to the ground as they apprehended him. He was later taken to hospital.
“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” said FBI director Kash Patel on Sunday.
Boulder Police said they were evacuating several blocks of the typically popular pedestrian Pearl Street Mall area, saying that there were “several victims” in the attack.
Steve Redfearn, Boulder Police Chief, said the suspect was taken into custody “without incident” and police were gathering evidence from a “vehicle of interest”.
“This act is unacceptable,” he said. “I ask that you join me in thinking about our victims, the families of the victims, and everyone involved.
A photograph on X appears to show people with injuries, including burns after a terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. Photo / X
‘Heinous act of terror’
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable”.
”My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror," he wrote on X.
“While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Footage posted on social media shows a shirtless man wearing sunglasses and holding two glass bottles. At one point, he is confronted by onlookers, including one who says: “He is spraying alcohol... he is making Molotov cocktails.”
Run For Their Lives, which organised the walk, said, “This is not a protest; it is a peaceful walk to show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and a plea for their release.”
The attack comes a week after two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead as they left a reception for diplomats near Washington’s Jewish museum.
Elias Rodriguez, 30, was arrested after allegedly shooting Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were soon to be engaged.
He was charged with two counts of first degree murder. He was also charged with murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm, and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
Multiple victims
Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive” behind the attack, which took place shortly before 1.30 pm (NZT 7.30am).
In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear spray bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.
He can be heard screaming “End Zionists!”, “Palestine is Free!” and “They are killers!” towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.
Other images showed billowing black smoke above a park.
Redfearn told reporters that “initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire”, adding that police arrived “very quickly”.
“When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries,” he said.
Police on the scene “immediately encountered that suspect, who was taken into custody without incident”, Redfearn said.
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that it was “aware of reports of an attack at today’s Boulder Run for Their Lives event.”
That event, it said, was a “weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages” who were seized during Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York voiced outrage at the attack.
“Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border - it is already burning the streets of America,” he said.
“Today, in Boulder, Colorado, Jewish people marched with a moral and humane demand: to return the hostages. In response, the Jewish protesters were brutally attacked, with an attacker throwing a Molotov cocktails at them.”
“Make no mistake - this is not a political protest, this is terrorism.”
