'Targeted terror attack' at Colorado mall; suspect tried to set victims on fire

USA Today

2 days ago

'Targeted terror attack' at Colorado mall; suspect tried to set victims on fire
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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.
Authorities said a male suspect was taken into custody on June 1 after multiple people were set on fire at a pedestrian mall in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a "targeted terror attack."
"We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado," FBI Director Kash Patel said on X. "Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available."
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.
Boulder dispatch received several calls to the county courthouse on Pearl Street at around 1:26 p.m. local time, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at an afternoon news conference on June 1. Initial reports indicated that there was a man with a weapon, and people were being set on fire at the scene.
Officers immediately responded to the scene and encountered multiple victims with wounds consistent with burns and other injuries, according to Redfearn. The victims, who sustained a range of injuries from "very serious to more minor," were taken to a local hospital, Redfearn added.
A suspect, who police are not identifying at this time, was taken into custody and transported to a hospital with minor injuries, Redfearn said.
Though the scene has been contained, Redfearn said a large area of downtown Boulder is closed off. People have been asked to avoid the area.
"This area is not safe yet. We're dealing with a vehicle of interest," Redfearn said at the news conference. "We're dealing with a large area that we are making sure it's safe before we allow people to come back into the scene."
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."
– Michael Collins
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 a 30-year-old man from Chicago fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees 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.
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.)