US police arrested a male suspect in what was quickly referred to as a “targeted terrorist attack” after at least six people were injured in an outdoor mall in the town of Boulder, Colorado.
The attack was gathered on Sunday by demonstrators with a group of volunteers called Run for Their Life to draw attention to the light-shape of Israeli prisoners remaining in Gaza.
According to FBI special agent Mark Mikalek, the suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabri Soliman, shouted “Free Palestine” and used a makeshift flamethrower in the attack.
Soliman was taken into custody.
The charges were not released immediately, but authorities said they expected him to be “completely accountable.”
Soliman was also injured and was taken to hospital for treatment, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
Police in Boulder were more cautious about their motives.
Police Chief Steve Redfern said it was “irresponsible” for him to speculate while witnesses were still interviewed. However, he said that groups gathered in support of prisoners were gathering peacefully, and that the casualties were in line with the injuries that were burning, ranging from serious to minors.
The victims were between 67 and 88 years old, police said.
“This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,” Redfern added. “Participate the victims, their families and everyone involved in this tragedy and join me.”
The incident occurred amid rising US tensions over Israeli war in Gaza, which encouraged an increase in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence.
The United States is Israel’s most solid allies, armed with an army that killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, imposing a blockade that nearly 2.3 million people took to the hunger crisis. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to hold around 58 people who were taken prisoner during the Palestinian group attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Reported from Washington, D.C., Alan Fisher of Al Jazeera said the investigation is continuing in Boulder, located northwest of the city of Denver.
“Police received the first report that people were on fire during a march last year every weekend to help those who were being taken prisoner in Gaza,” Fisher said.
“There’s a guy portrayed on social media and it appears to be carrying what appears to be two bottles of liquid. Locals say it was essentially a gasoline bomb, a Molotov cocktail and thrown by the crowd,” he said.
“Police have confirmed that some of the injuries are serious,” Fisher added. “It is said that at least two people were taken to hospital locally.”
Brooke Coffman, 19, from the University of Colorado, said he witnessed the attack and saw four women either sitting on the ground with burns to their legs. One of them appeared to be badly burned in most of her body and was wrapped in a flag by someone, she said.
She said she saw the man presumed to be the attacker standing in the shirtless courtyard and screamed, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid.
“Everyone is screaming, ‘Get the water, get the water,'” Coffman said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Police said in a statement that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “all kinds of hatred acts are unacceptable.”
Boulder’s Jewish community also condemned the attack.
“We are sad and heartbroken to learn that the agitator was thrown into the Walkers while running for a run on Pearl Street as we raised awareness of the hostages still held in Gaza,” a community member said in a statement.
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