Multiple people were injured after a man shouting “free Palestine” tossed Molotov cocktails at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Colorado, authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police said eight people – aged 52 to 88 – were injured in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footage of the attack shows the suspect, who was shirtless, screaming at the group and had what appears to be Molotov cocktails in each hand when he was arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attack unfolded during a weekly scheduled demonstration put on by Run for Their Lives, a pro-Israeli group that holds walks in the outdoor pedestrian mall in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police got calls around 13:26 local time (20:26 BST) about a man with a weapon and people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers who responded found multiple people injured, including those with burns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Witnesses told authorities that the suspect used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd,” said Mark Michalek, who heads the FBI’s Denver office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Redfearn added those devices included Molotov cocktails being tossed at the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michalek identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soliman is an Egyptian national, government officials told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, Soliman arrived in California on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023, multiple sources have told CBS News. He had been living in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footage that appeared to be from the attack showed a chaotic scene: smoke filling the air, people running in multiple directions, spots of grass on fire and people injured on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In images and videos posted online, but not yet verified by the BBC, a man who appears to be the suspect is seen without a shirt and holding bottles with liquid with a piece of red cloth inside. He can be heard yelling at the crowd and appears to be advancing on them as some rush to flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he screams, one woman is on the ground and appears injured. People surround her and one man pours water on her body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footage shows police rushing to the scene and arresting the suspect. Police say he was taken to the hospital with injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Mr Michalek said. “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attack is the second high-profile act of violence in the US in the last two weeks related to the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man who shouted “free Palestine” fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on 22 May. The incident happened at a networking event organised by a Jewish organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser said that from what officials know the attack “appears to be hate crime given the group that was targeted”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser said in a statement on Sunday. “Hate has no place in Colorado.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said he was “shocked” by the incident and called the attack “pure antisemitism”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Shocked by the terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado,” he wrote on X. “This is pure antisemitism, fuelled by the blood libels spread in the media.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, similarly was saddened over the attack, calling it “terrorism” and asking for “concrete action” in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a post on X, the ambassador said that Jewish protesters were brutally attacked”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border \u2013 it is already burning the streets of America,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police said eight people – aged 52 to 88 – were injured in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14346,"featured_media":772981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24249,24250,1981,10430],"coauthors":[9115],"class_list":["post-772980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-colorado-fire","tag-eight-hurt","tag-featured","tag-palestine"],"yoast_head":"\n