FBI investigating 'targeted terror attack' in Colorado after six injured at rally for hostages

The National

2 days ago

Six people were injured and some may have been set on fire on Sunday at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, police said, with the FBI calling the incident a 'targeted terror attack'.
The FBI identified the suspect, who has been taken into custody, as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, but provided no further details about him.
The attack took place at the Pearl Street Mall, where a group of people had gathered to call for the release of hostages in Gaza. Police received calls saying a person there had a weapon and had been trying to set people on fire.
'This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event,' FBI agent Mark Michalek told reporters. 'Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flame-thrower and threw an incendiary into the crowd,' he said, adding that 'the suspect was heard to yell: 'Free Palestine.''
Witnesses at the scene told CBS 's Colorado affiliate that the attacker had thrown Molotov cocktails at people in the area. Several victims who reportedly had signs of burns had been taken to hospital, with some of the injuries believed to be life-threatening, police said.
The suspected attacker was also taken to hospital, with minor injuries, law enforcement said.
'We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,' FBI director Kash Patel posted on social media. 'Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.'
Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino said 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.'
Law enforcement said that a man was taken into custody in the assault. The White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, posted on X that the man was a foreign national who 'illegally overstayed [his] visa.'
The attack is believed to have been directed at a Run for their Lives event, sponsored by Denver-based non-profit group Jewishcolorado. The recurring event focuses on raising awareness of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
In a video circulating on social media, a shirtless man waving two bottles filled with liquid can be seen near the site of the attack. He repeatedly shouts 'how many children have you killed' and 'end Zionists' as people attend to the injured lying on the ground near by. People can be heard reporting the attacker's alleged actions to police.
Photos accompanying the social media posts show the man being detained by police.
Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that it was too early to discuss a motive but that witnesses were being interviewed, adding that local authorities were not calling it a terrorist attack at this time.
Colorado attorney general Philip Weiser said that the attack appears to have been a hate crime, given the group that was the focus. Several blocks of the mall area were evacuated, police said.
Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was 'closely monitoring' the situation, adding that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable'.
The Boulder attack occurred as law enforcement authorities in the US struggle with a sharp rise in anti-Semitic violence.
It comes about a week after a man who was arrested on charges in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members shouted 'free Palestine' as he was led away by police.