Multiple burn injuries in attack at Gaza hostage protest in US
Several people suffered burns and other injuries Sunday in the US state of Colorado in what the FBI called a "targeted terror attack" against demonstrators seeking the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Police in the city of Boulder said a man was taken into custody. They were more cautious in presuming a possible motive for the attack, which multiple sources said was committed against members of the Jewish community during a peaceful gathering.
Local media cited eyewitnesses describing a man throwing something resembling a homemade Molotov cocktail at the group.
In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.
He can be heard screaming "End Zionists!" "Palestine is Free!" and "They are killers!" towards several people in red t-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.
Other images showed billowing black smoke above a park.
"We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado," FBI chief Kash Patel said on X.
The White House said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident.
Asked if it was a terror attack against the protesters, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn insisted it was "way too early to speculate motive" behind the violence, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT).
He told reporters that "initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire."
"When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries," Redfearn said.
Police on the scene "immediately encountered that suspect, who was taken into custody without incident," he added.
- 'Antisemitic attack' -
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that the attack occurred at Sunday's "Boulder Run for Their Lives" event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in support of the hostages seized during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, voiced outrage at the incident.
"Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border -- it is already burning the streets of America," he said in a statement, describing how people marching for the return of hostages were attacked by someone "throwing... Molotov cocktails."
"Make no mistake -- this is not a political protest, this is terrorism."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in, like Patel describing the incident as a "targeted terror attack."
"Terror has no place in our great country," Rubio said.
Several organizations decried the apparent hate-fueled violence.
"Today, during a peaceful walk on Pearl Street in Boulder to raise awareness for the hostages still in Gaza, our community was targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack," the Israeli-American Council said in a statement.
"This is an attack on all of us -- and we will not stay silent," it added.
The Boulder violence comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted "Free Palestine" was taken into custody by police.
nl-mlm/bjt
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
18 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump, DOJ threaten Calif. with legal action, fines after trans athlete's win
Days after a 16-year-old transgender athlete placed first in two events at the California state track-and-field championship, the Trump administration is threatening legal action and 'large scale' fines over the state's policy allowing trans athletes to compete in high school sports. In a letter addressed to the state's public school districts, Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said on Monday that the California Interscholastic Federation violates the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause with its bylaw stating that all students 'should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student's records.' The letter directed school districts to certify in writing by June 9 that they wouldn't follow the bylaw.
Forbes
20 minutes ago
- Forbes
Cities Consider Using Eminent Domain For Unholy Property Seizures
A person takes a picture of the childhood home of the new Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Illinois, (Photo ... More by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) Robert Prevost grew up in a modest home in the south Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois. Recently, a realty company purchased that old home, fixed it up, and put it up for sale. Then a few weeks ago, Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. Now that modest home is in demand. The house is supposed to be auctioned off, with bidding starting at $250,000. How much of a premium will people pay for the childhood home of a Pope? Ten percent? Twenty? Nobody knows because this hasn't happened before—we can't make a guess based on past sales of 'childhood Pope homes.' And we may never find out. Dolton officials are threatening to use eminent domain to force a sale so the home can become a publicly accessible historic site. But while taking the home for a public use meets the constitution's requirements to take property, the price the city ends up paying could be less than divine. When the government takes property through eminent domain, the constitution says it must pay 'just compensation' for the property, which courts say is whatever price the property would fetch on the open market. But figuring out what that price is can be tricky, and the government often stiffs property owners when it can get away with it. ProPublica had a series of articles several years ago showing how the federal government paid very different prices for property depending on whether owners could afford attorneys. That's where the planned auction would have been helpful. After all, the best evidence of how big a 'Pope premium' the house commands on the open market would be an auction on the open market. And that may well be why the city moved so quickly: In May, city officials darkly warned the current owner to make sure bidders knew 'their 'purchase' may be only temporary since the Village intends to begin the eminent domain process very shortly.' If the city can suppress bids at the auction, it leaves itself the option of arguing that the real value of the property is what the home was on sale for before the Pope's elevation: $199,900. It could even argue it should be lower than that. The Pope himself has been quite busy and hasn't commented specifically on what should happen with his old family home, but Christian Britschgi writing for Reason noted that his first included the line: "[Saint] Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat.' The actual 'fair market' price for a Pope's childhood home may be high or it may be low, but Dolton shouldn't be afraid of the truth. And it shouldn't be using public power to try to stop the current owners' efforts to find out exactly what their property is worth in the real world. Meanwhile, a city in New Jersey is considering another unholy use of eminent domain, except here it is directed squarely at a church. In Toms River, the Christ Episcopal Church wants to open a small homeless shelter on its property. But the town has a different plan for the church's property: pickleball courts and a skate park. Christ Episcopal hosts a number of community programs, including an affordable housing nonprofit. That nonprofit recently submitted plans to the zoning board for a 17-bed overnight shelter on the church property. Like many areas across America, rising home prices have contributed to rising homelessness across New Jersey. One group estimates that the number of homeless residents in the region has doubled in recent years. But for the mayor of Toms River, a new park complex along the city's eponymous river is a priority. He said the church's property is, 'a great opportunity for parking, for recreation.' Broader plans for the area include taking nearby waterfront property to build a tiki bar and jet ski rentals. The church found out about the effort to seize its property a mere 24 hours before the city council first considered a measure. It passed by a 4-3 vote in a contentious meeting where council members yelled at each other. A second approval may come this week. That the vote to take the property came just three weeks before the zoning board considered the application for the shelter is far too convenient. The Fifth Amendment allows government to take property for public use and parks usually fit that definition. But the town doesn't want a park so much as it doesn't want a homeless shelter. Whether or not this kind of bad faith use of eminent domain is constitutional is a somewhat open question. For instance, in nearby Connecticut the state supreme court rejected an attempt to stop an affordable housing development with sham playing fields. Massachusetts, Georgia, and Rhode Island similarly prohibit these so-called pre-textual takings. Last fall, the Supreme Court almost took up the case of a Long Island hardware store chain that lost its property to a town for a 'passive park' (the town had no plan to develop the land). Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito said they would have granted the case but four votes are needed to achieve Supreme Court review. Pretextual takings are an incredible threat to private property. As long as the government is willing to pay the 'fair market' price practically any property can be seized. That market price doesn't include whatever an owner might spend in court trying to keep their property. Challenging even the most outlandish use of eminent domain could mean coming out the other end of the process without a home or business and poorer for it. The Asbury Park Press speculated that the New Jersey episcopal diocese's poor financial situation may be a consideration in whether it negotiates or resists. For now though, the church has indicated it will fight and it has support from other area houses of worship. The mayor has talked about the need to 'balance the hardships' of a community without a park and speculated that the church congregants could simply 'drive to a different location every Sunday.' This is a grim view of governing that is fundamentally at odds with America's traditions of property and religious rights. Christ Episcopal has been in Toms River since 1865 and it wants to use its property to fulfill its religious mission to care for the poor at no expense to the town. The mayor wants to provide convenient recreation at cost to the taxpayers. The U.S. Constitution gave government the power of eminent domain but courts shouldn't merely roll over whenever government presents a plan to take private property. The Fifth Amendment also says that no one should be deprived of their property without due process of law. When the government presents an unholy use of eminent domain, judges should consider all the facts and uphold justice.
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff's last call to daughter came shortly before her death
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Details on Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff's sudden death have been revealed. According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's report obtained by Fox News Digital, Bach-Hasselhoff died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 5. The report also stated that the benzodiazepines clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam were in her system at the time of her death. According to the Mayo Clinic, clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam can be used to treat panic disorders. Bach-Hasselhoff's final words were revealed in the medical examiner's report. At approximately 7:45 am on March 5, Bach-Hasselhoff called her daughter and said that she "loved her very much." After the call, her daughter called and texted her throughout the day and "never" received a response, the report stated. Bach-Hasselhoff's daughter went to her mother's house to perform a wellness check and found her "unresponsive" on her bed. The report alleges that Bach-Hasselhoff "mentioned suicide last year, but there were never any attempts" and that she was "depressed." The report did not name Bach-Hasselhoff's daughter. Pamela and her ex-husband, David Hasselhoff, met on the set of "Knight Rider" and married in 1989. They welcomed their two daughters, Taylor and Hayley, in 1990 and 1992 and divorced in 2006. "Our family is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Pamela Hasselhoff," David shared on social media at the time of Pamela's death. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult period but kindly request privacy as we grieve and navigate through this challenging time." Pamela and David appeared alongside each other in "Baywatch" for 10 seasons. She also landed roles in "The Young and the Restless," "The Fall Guy" and "Sirens." Pamela celebrated her family in the last post she shared on Instagram. "As we step into 2025, my heart is full of gratitude, especially for my precious grandbaby, London," the actress wrote on New Year's Eve. "Watching her grow and seeing her smile light up my world is truly the greatest blessing. My wish for all of you this year is health, happiness, and an abundance of love. May 2025 be filled with beautiful moments, laughter, and all the blessings your hearts can hold." "Here's to a year of making cherished memories, spreading joy, and embracing every precious moment!" After a 16-year marriage, David filed for divorce from Pamela, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized in 2006, and the court awarded joint custody of their daughters. "I've always loved him and always will, and have love and compassion for him," Pamela told The Associated Press at the time. "It's a very, very sad day, but a day to move on."
