A 45-year-old man used a makeshift flamethrower and lobbed Molotov cocktails at pro-Israel demonstrators in a Boulder attack now being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism.
Colorado law enforcement arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman on Sunday after he attacked a group of people calling for the release of hostages in Gaza, wounding eight people at the Pearl Street Mall demonstration.
Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn said authorities rushed to the scene just before 1.30 p.m. after multiple callers reported a man with weapons setting people on fire.
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“Our officers rushed as quickly as they could somewhere close to the area, and they immediately ran into a chaotic situation where a man was throwing Molotov cocktails and using other devices to hurt people,” he said in a Sunday night news conference.
Officers immediately detained the suspect and aided victims, Redfearn said. All eight victims, aged 52 to 88, were taken to hospitals in Boulder and the Denver metro area. At least one was in critical condition. Soliman was also hurt and brought to a hospital for examination. Police said they believed Soliman acted alone.
Online booking records show Soliman was booked shortly before midnight on multiple felony charges, including one count of using explosives or incendiary devices to commit a felony, first-degree assault against an elderly or at-risk adult, and two counts of murder in the first degree.
So far, authorities have not announced any deaths from the Pearl Street Mall attack, though at least one victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
One witness told MSNBC News that he saw the victims were “having their skin melt off their bodies.”
President Trump had not publicly commented on the attack Sunday night, but a senior White House official told ABC News that Trump has been briefed.
FBI Special Agent Mark Michalek said the attack happened at a weekly event. Boulder’s Jewish Community said the demonstrators were participating in the Run for Their Lives Walk, a movement raising awareness and calling for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas.
“Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd,” he said. “The suspect was heard to yell, ‘Free Palestine’ during the attack.”
“As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek added. “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country.”
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino added on X: “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.”
Redfearn initially told reporters that police were hesitant to label the attack as an act of terrorism, citing the fact that it was too early into the investigation to form such a view. In a follow-up press conference, he did not specify whether police viewed it as such but did label it an “attack.”
Michael Dougherty, district attorney for Boulder County, vowed to uncover the events leading up to the shocking attack.
“[Authorities] are working hand in hand to ensure that we secure all the evidence, all the information and all the witness statements we need to hold the attacker fully accountable,” he said. “That is my promise: to hold the attacker fully accountable.”
