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<\/a><\/p>\nBomb squads set up a staging area following an incident involving multiple injuries that the FBI is investigating as an act of terror on June 1, 2025 in Boulder, Colorado. A suspect is in custody after reportedly throwing an incendiary device at a group participating in an organized walk near the courthouse to show solidarity with hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. (Chet Strange\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Police arrested one man at the scene. The FBI identified him as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, and said he had used a \u201cmakeshift flamethrower\u201d in the attack, which the agency said it was investigating as an act of terrorism. Soliman yelled, \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d during the attack, according to an FBI agent.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness account posted by a pro-Israel X user included video showed a shirtless man, holding spray bottles, yelling, \u201cEnd Zionists.\u201d Footage shared on social media showed smoke and people on the ground. Screaming was audible.<\/p>\n
Local and national authorities as well as Jewish leaders from around the world have condemned the attack, which comes 10 days after a pro-Palestinian activist shot and killed two attendees of an event held at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Last month, a man was charged with firebombing the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to protest what he said was Shapiro\u2019s stance on the Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement that the attack \u201cis another example of a wave of domestic terror attacks aimed at the Jewish community.\u201d He urged President Donald Trump and Congress to allocate more funding for security at Jewish institutions.<\/p>\n
The incident took place shortly after 1 p.m. on the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder, which hosts the city\u2019s Run for Their Lives. The movement hosts regular runs and walks across the country to draw attention to Israeli hostages. On its website, the group advises participants concerned about their safety to \u201cfocus on humanity\u201d in their demonstrations. The Boulder march had been staged weekly, organizers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Our Lives walk on Pearl Street,\u201d local Jewish leaders, including rabbis, said in a statement distributed Sunday afternoon by the Boulder Jewish Community Center, shortly before the beginning of the Shavuot holiday. They added, \u201cOur hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at an initial press conference that the first emergency call had said people were being set on fire and that multiple people had been transported to hospitals with injuries \u201cfairly consistent\u201d with that description. He said the injuries ranged from minor to severe and potentially life-threatening.<\/p>\n
Redfearn confirmed that \u201ca group of pro-Israel people\u201d had been gathered in the area but said it was too early yet to say whether they had been targeted. He said that if an investigation shows that any group was targeted, the police department would seek to safeguard them in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot confirm right now that this was targeted at a specific group of people,\u201d he said at the initial press conference. \u201cWe understand that there\u2019s a lot of tensions right now and a lot of issues in the United States and everywhere. Once we have a clear motive, we will react accordingly. And if that motive was a group that\u2019s targeted, we will absolutely step up and ensure that additional security, additional presence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who is Jewish, condemned the attack while referencing both the hostages and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. He also linked the attack to the D.C. shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the American Jewish community continues to reel from the horrific antisemitic murders in Washington, D.C., it is unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder, on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot no less,\u201d Polis wrote on X. \u201cSeveral individuals were brutally attacked while peacefully marching to draw attention to the plight of the hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 604 days. I condemn this vicious act of terrorism, and pray for the recovery of the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n