A group of Jewish protesters calling for the release of Israeli hostages were attacked with Molotov cocktails on Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, with eight victims injured and hospitalised. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has termed the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and arrested a suspect in the case.
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The suspect, Mohamed Soliman, targeted protesters who belonged to the volunteer group ‘Run for Their Lives’, which organises run and walk events to call for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
The group had gathered at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in Boulder frequented by tourists and students.
Here’s what we know so far about the victims:
The eight people hospitalised for injuries ranged in age from 52 to 88, reported the Associated Press. Photos from the scene showed a woman lying on the ground, soaked in water, after several victims displayed burn injuries due to the attack.
The injuries, consistent with burn wounds, ranged from minor to serious as per Boulder police chief Steve Redfearn.
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Lynn Segal, 72, one of 20 people gathered at the site of the protest, stated that they witnessed a “rope of fire” and two big flares during the attack, after which the chaos erupted.
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Segal, who is Jewish, has supported Palestine for more than 40 years, and was concerned that she might be accused of helping the suspect because she was wearing a pro-Palestine shirt.
“There were people who were burning, I wanted to help. But I didn’t want to be associated with the perpetrator,” she told AP.
Mark D. Michalek, the FBI special agent in charge, stated during a press conference, earlier today, that witnesses saw the suspect use a “makeshift flamethrower” and yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack.
The people hospitalized for injuries in the Pearl Street attack range in age from 67 to 88.
Photos from the scene showed a woman lying on the ground in the fetal position with her hair soaked, and a man helping her and getting water from someone with a water jug.
The injuries authorities found were consistent with reports of people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said, adding that injuries ranged from serious to minor.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman arrested
Redfearn told reporters that it was too early to discuss a motive but that witnesses were being interviewed.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested at the scene. No charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”
Video from the scene showed him shirtless and wearing jeans and holding two clear bottles with a transparent liquid in them while shouting at onlookers.
Another video shows a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on the suspect.
FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department — which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations — decried the attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
