Eight people were burned in Boulder, Colorado, in a firebombing attack on a demonstration to draw attention to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
At least one of the victims, who ranged from 55 to 88, was critically injured, according to authorities.
Police arrested one man at the scene. The FBI identified him as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, and said he had used a “makeshift flamethrower” in the attack, which the agency said it was investigating as an act of terrorism. Soliman yelled, “Free Palestine,” during the attack, according to an FBI agent.
An eyewitness account posted by a pro-Israel X user included video showed a shirtless man, holding spray bottles, yelling, “End Zionists.” Footage shared on social media showed smoke and people on the ground. Screaming was audible.
Local and national authorities as well as Jewish leaders from around the world have condemned the attack, which comes 10 days after a pro-Palestinian activist shot and killed two attendees of an event held at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. In April, a man was charged with firebombing the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to protest what he said was Shapiro’s stance on the Palestinians.
Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement that the attack “is another example of a wave of domestic terror attacks aimed at the Jewish community.” He urged President Donald Trump and Congress to allocate more funding for security at Jewish institutions.
The incident took place shortly after 1 p.m. on the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder, which hosts the city’s Run for Their Lives. The movement hosts regular runs and walks across the country to draw attention to Israeli hostages. On its website, the group advises participants concerned about their safety to “focus on humanity” in their demonstrations. The Boulder march had been staged weekly, organizers said.
“We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Our Lives walk on Pearl Street,” local Jewish leaders, including rabbis, said in a statement distributed Sunday afternoon by the Boulder Jewish Community Center, shortly before the beginning of the Shavuot holiday. They added, “Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.”
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at an initial press conference that the first emergency call had said people were being set on fire and that multiple people had been transported to hospitals with injuries “fairly consistent” with that description. He said the injuries ranged from minor to severe and potentially life-threatening.
Redfearn confirmed that “a group of pro-Israel people” had been gathered in the area but said it was too early yet to say whether they had been targeted. He said that if an investigation shows that any group was targeted, the police department would seek to safeguard them in the future.
“I cannot confirm right now that this was targeted at a specific group of people,” he said at the initial press conference. “We understand that there’s a lot of tensions right now and a lot of issues in the United States and everywhere. Once we have a clear motive, we will react accordingly. And if that motive was a group that’s targeted, we will absolutely step up and ensure that additional security, additional presence.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who is Jewish, condemned the attack while referencing both the hostages and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. He also linked the attack to the D.C. shooting.
“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, on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot no less,” Polis wrote on X. “Several individuals were brutally attacked while peacefully marching to draw attention to the plight of the hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 604 days. I condemn this vicious act of terrorism, and pray for the recovery of the victims.”
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