Boulder attack: 6 people injured after an event for Israeli hostages

The Herald Scotland

3 days ago

Four victims were taken to Boulder Community Hospital, and two others were airlifted to a hospital in the Denver metropolitan area, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said. He added that at least one victim was "very seriously" injured and other victims received "more minor injuries."
Sunday's attack falls on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and comes over a week after the slaying of two Israeli Embassy aides outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. The attack occurred at a "regularly scheduled, weekly peaceful event," according to Michalek. He said witnesses reported seeing the suspect use a makeshift flamethrower and throw an incendiary device into the crowd.
Earlies on Sunday, Boulder dispatch received several calls to the county courthouse on Pearl Street at around 1:26 p.m. local time, Redfearn said at an afternoon news conference. Initial reports indicated that there was a man with a weapon, and people were being set on fire at the scene.
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 "call for the release of the hostages in Gaza."
"Hate has no place in Colorado," Weiser added. "We all have the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom to speak our views. But these violent acts -- which are becoming more frequent, brazen and closer to home -- must stop and those who commit these horrific acts must be fully held to account."
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the attack in Boulder, a senior White House official told USA TODAY.
Michalek said the FBI is processing the crime scene and the subject vehicle as well as interviewing key witnesses.
"As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," Michalek said. "Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country. This is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across our nation."
Several blocks remained closed off in downtown Boulder surrounding the county courthouse, according to Redfearn. Multiple teams, including canine, bomb squad, and hazmat, were in the area, Redfearn said.
Authorities were still working on clearing the area for devices.
Hours before the attack in Boulder, 18 to 20 buildings on the University of Denver campus were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti.
The vandalism took place either late Friday or early Saturday, said Adam Rovner, director of the university's Center for Judaic Studies. Rovner said the graffiti was spread among buildings across the campus, including dormitories.
It was not immediately clear whether the graffiti was tied to the attack in Boulder, which is about half an hour northwest of Denver.
"In the wake of the murders in DC at the Jewish Museum and in the wake of this horrific attack on a peaceful vigil in Boulder, this kind of thing is what globalize the Intifada means," Rovner said. "It means attacks on innocent people."
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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 and noted that safety is its "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.
Run for Their Lives is an organization that facilitates global running or walking events calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, according to the organization's website. The website states that local communities meet once a week for a 1-kilometer walk or run while wearing matching t-shirts and carrying flags of the countries where the hostages are from. The events are shared on social media by local organizers.
"The term 'Run' is symbolic, emphasizing that the hostages cannot run for their lives," according to the website. "We run or walk on their behalf, because they can't--and to act before it's too late."
An organization that works to fight antisemitism and bias said in a statement that it has reviewed videos of the suspect believed to have thrown the Molotov cocktails.
"We believe he can be heard saying, 'How many children have you killed?' 'We need to end Zionists,'" the ADL said.
The organization said the man also gestured toward what appeared to be victims of the attack and proclaimed: "They are killers."
At 2:08 p.m. local time, the Boulder Police Department said in a post on X that they responded to a report of several victims near the Boulder mall, about 30 miles northwest of Denver. Pearl Street is a four-block pedestrian mall that stretches from 11th Street to 15th Street. Multiple businesses and restaurants, as well as the Boulder County Courthouse, are located in the area.
About an hour later, the police department said it was evacuating several blocks around the area between Walnut and Pine streets as they continued "to investigate this active incident."
"There was a lot of people out -- a very beautiful day," Redfearn said, adding that there was a group of people that were conducting a peaceful demonstration in support of Israel. The police chief said he believed the demonstration occurred frequently in the area.
Redfearn called the incident "unacceptable," noting that it was too early for police to speculate on a motive.
Civil rights and advocacy groups have reported a surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
According to Israeli tallies, the attack killed about 1,200 people, and 251 Israelis were taken hostage into Gaza. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and has destroyed much of the enclave, said Gaza health officials.
The attack also occurred after two Israeli embassy employees were fatally shot in Washington, D.C., on May 21. The victims were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect opened fire, killing Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. The suspect shouted, "Free, free Palestine" while in custody, authorities said.
Israeli embassies immediately increased security measures following the incident, USA TODAY previously reported. Just days after the shooting, federal authorities announced that 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.
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Dan Bongino, the FBI's deputy director, said on X that the agency's leadership team was on the ground in Boulder and would soon have an update on the attack.
"This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts," Bongino said. "We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it."
-- Charles Ventura and Joseph Garrison
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on X that the state was working with local and federal law enforcement to support the investigation.
"I am closely monitoring the situation in Boulder, and my thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror," Polis said in the post. "Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable."
The Anti-Defamation League said it was monitoring the situation "as we approach the holiday of Shavuot."
"We are aware of reports of an attack at today's Boulder Run for Their Lives event - a weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages kidnapped on 10/7," the organization said on X.
According to Jewishcolorado, a Denver-based non-profit that is part of the Jewish Federations of North America, the Run for Their Lives walk is a repeating event in downtown Boulder.
"We have been walking in Boulder, CO since Thanksgiving 2023 to show solidarity for the plight of the hostages still being held in Gaza," according to the organization's website. "We will continue to walk until all hostages are released."
(This story was updated to add new information.)