A peaceful demonstration raising awareness for Israeli hostages took a harrowing turn after a man allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set marchers ablaze.
Police in Boulder, Colorado, urged locals to evacuate the area around Pearl Street Mall after receiving a report at around 2 p.m. on Sunday that a man was setting people on fire. Authorities arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, in connection with the attack. The FBI called the attack a “targeted act of violence” and is investigating it as an act of terrorism.
The man allegedly shouted “Free Palestine!” as he used a “makeshift flame thrower” and threw an “incendiary device” into the crowd, the FBI said.
Six people were injured in the attack, with one in critical condition. The victims have not been publicly identified.
Here’s everything we know about the attack.
What happened?
Just after 2 p.m., Boulder Police announced they were responding to a report that a man with a weapon was setting people on fire, Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a Sunday press conference. An hour later, authorities ordered the evacuation of the 1200, 1300 and 1400 blocks of Pearl Street between Walnut and Pine.
At the time of the attack, Run for Their Lives, a group of demonstrators raising awareness for the Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza, were marching on Pearl Street, as they do every Sunday, organizations have said.
Soliman allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device” into the crowd as he yelled “Free Palestine!”, the FBI said.
Ed Victor, one of about 30 people marching, told CBS News that the group was peacefully walking down Pearl Street when the attack occurred.
“So we stood up, lined up in front of the old Boulder courthouse, and I was actually on the far west side. And there was somebody there that I didn’t even notice, although he was making a lot of noise, but I’m just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. And, from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown,” Victor told the outlet.
Another marcher “saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” he said.
Are there any suspects?
Police arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, on Sunday.
Authorities have not yet announced any charges against him, but the FBI said the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
How many victims were injured?
Six people, ages 67 to 88, were injured, with some suffering from wounds that were consistent with burns, Redfearn said. Their injuries range from minor to critical, the FBI said.
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora told 9News they had received two patients in connection with the attack.
Their identities have not been made public.
What has been said about the attack?
Nonprofit organizations and federal officials have condemned the attack.
“My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation,” Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, wrote in a statement.
Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Negus, who represents Boulder, said he’s “praying hard” for the victims. “We are closely monitoring, and are in contact with local law enforcement regarding the horrific attack on Pearl Street Mall. Praying hard for the victims,” he wrote on X.
A senior White House official told The Independent that the president has been briefed on the situation.
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The Boulder Jewish Community issued a joint statement in the wake of the incident. “We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza. We don’t have all the details of what is unfolding, and we promise to keep our community informed,” the statement read. “Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.”
The statement continued: “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another. Strength to you all.”
The Anti-Defamation League also issued a statement, saying it’s aware of the reports of the attack at Boulder Run for Their Lives event, which the nonprofit described as “a weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages kidnapped on 10/7.”
Jim Berk, the CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, denounced Sunday’s attack and mentioned the recent killing of the couple working at Israel’s embassy in Washington D.C.
“This marks the second violent assault on Jewish and pro-Israel civilians in the U.S. in less than two weeks—a chilling escalation that cannot be dismissed as coincidence. On May 21, two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down in cold blood in Washington, D.C., and now the extremist violence has come to Boulder, CO,” said Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk.
“Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism. The nonstop demonization of Israel and Zionism on our campuses, in our streets, and across digital platforms has created a climate where hate flourishes, and physical attacks—even murder—of Jews is inevitable.”
