FBI calls incident in Boulder a ‘targeted terror attack’; footage shows man screaming ‘End Zionists’ at scene; comes less than 2 weeks after killings of Israeli embassy staff in DC
Activists rallying for the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza were targeted in a firebombing attack on Sunday, which the FBI said it was investigating as an act of terrorism.
Six people aged 67-88 were wounded in the attack, FBI Special Agent Mark Michalek said at a press conference. One of the wounded is in critical condition.
The suspect is in custody and was identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45.
Witnesses told investigators that Soliman attacked the demonstrators with a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device, Michalek said. Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the suspect hurled Molotov cocktails at the demonstrators.
“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek said.
A joint statement from Boulder Jewish community groups said that an incendiary device had been thrown at participants in a hostage rally by a group called Run for Their Lives. Chapters of the group hold weekly events around the US to raise awareness about the hostages.
In footage said to be from the scene of the attack, a shirtless man screamed “End Zionists” while holding what appear to be Molotov cocktails. The man also shouted, “Palestine is free.”
At least one person was lying on the ground being tended to by bystanders as a police officer approached the shirtless man and cuffed his hands behind his back, the video showed.
“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” FBI chief Kash Patel said on X, adding that “our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
Redfearn said at an earlier press conference that at 1:26 p.m. local time, police received calls that there was a “man with a weapon” near the county courthouse on 13th and Pearl St. and that “people were being set on fire.”
When police arrived at the scene shortly thereafter, they encountered “multiple victims” with injuries “consistent with burns,” Redfearn said.
The victims were evacuated to a nearby Boulder Community Health medical center for treatment, Redfearn said, adding that a number of them apparently suffered “life-threatening” injuries.
Shortly after arriving on the scene, a suspect was pointed out to officers who managed to apprehend him, Redfearn said.
Redfearn confirmed that a pro-Israel peaceful demonstration was taking place in the area, as it frequently does.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis condemned the attack as a “vicious act of terrorism.”
“As the American Jewish community continues to reel from the horrific antisemitic murders in Washington, D.C., it is unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder,” tweeted Polis, who is Jewish.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We’re united in prayer for the victims of a targeted terror attack this afternoon in Boulder. Terror has no place in our great country.”
The New York Police Department said it was stepping up its protection of religious sites in the city for the Shavuot holiday with patrols and heavy weapons teams.
The incident in Boulder took place less than two weeks after an attacker gunned down two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC. The alleged shooter shouted “Free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” after the killings, according to authorities.
After that attack, Jewish security officials warned that the murders could inspire copycat attacks against other Israeli or Jewish targets in the US.
The attacks come after a series of thwarted terror attempts against Jewish and Israeli targets around the US in the past year.
As reported b The Times of Israel