Eight people were injured on Sunday in what the FBI described as a “targeted terror attack” at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, where a group had gathered to raise attention to Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman (45), yelled “free Palestine” and used a makeshift flame-thrower in the attack, said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the Denver field office.
The suspect was taken into custody.
The attack occurred at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder, where a group had gathered for an event to draw attention to Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
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The suspect was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
Video from the scene showed a witness shouting: “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand.
It occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.
FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department condemned the attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans”.
Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive, however.
Police chief Steve Redfearn said it “would be irresponsible for me to speculate” while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims – ranging from serious to minor – were consistent with them having been set on fire.
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others.
They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90 per cent of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. – AP
