'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain

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'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain
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FBI investigating 'attack at Colorado mall
The FBI is investigating a report of a "targeted attack" in a Boulder, Colorado mall.
An attack that rocked Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday on a group gathered to support Israeli hostages comes less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members were brazenly shot to death in the nation's capital − and amid a rise in incidents of antisemitism across the United States.
A male suspect was arrested after multiple people were set on fire in Boulder in the vicinity of a walk to remember the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The suspect, identified by authorities as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack, Mark Michalek, special agent in charge at the FBI's Denver field office, said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement that the attack appeared to be a "hate crime given the group that was targeted." Weiser said the group meets weekly at the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder to urge the release of the Gaza hostages.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, condemned the attack in a post on X. "This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism."
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also blasted the incident as a "heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable."
In a statement on social media, the Boulder Jewish Community Center said it was in touch with law enforcement about the Jewish community in the city, noting that safety is the "highest priority."
"We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza," the Boulder Jewish Community Center said.
Israeli Embassy staffers slain as they exited Jewish Museum
On May 21, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his girlfriend Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were gunned down in Washington, D.C., as they exited the Capital Jewish Museum about a mile from the White House.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and was also facing several firearms charges and counts of killing foreign officials. Authorities said that the attack is being investigated as a hate and terrorism crime.
Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said the two victims killed were a "young couple about to be engaged."
And just days after that shooting, a dual U.S. and German citizen was arrested in New York for allegedly attempting to firebomb a branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, authorities said.
ADL: Antisemitism reports spiking
Reports of incidents of antisemitism have continued to rise for a second year in a row, accoding to an annual report released by the Anti-Defamation League in April.
ADL researchers counted 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment, and vandalism across the country in 2024 − a 5% increase from 2023, which was also a record-breaking year.
The number of incidents was the highest since the ADL started tracking antisemitism data in 1979.
Tensions heightened over the Gaza war
Israel's war on Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack − which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza − has led to a climate of heightened tensions throughout the United States. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration has detained pro-Palestinian protesters without charges and halted funding to certain U.S. universities that have been the site of Gaza protests.
Israel's campaign has devastated much of Gaza, killing over 54,000 Palestinians and destroying most buildings.
Contributing: Will Carless, Thao Nguyen, John Bacon