Multiple people have been injured after a screaming shirtless man launched Molotov cocktails at them during a peaceful pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the incident a ‘targeted terror attack’ against demonstrators as they gathered to remember the October 7 victims who are still being held hostage in Gaza on Sunday afternoon.
The horror unfolded during the event, organized by Run For Their Lives, on Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder at around 1.26pm, police said.
Shocking footage from the scene showed several victims laying motionless on the ground beside Israel flags as witnesses rushed to pour water on their wounds.
Video also showed the suspect, a middle-aged man, holding bottles of what appeared to be alcohol for the Molotov cocktails as he shouted at bystanders.
EMTs rushed to treat people at the scene and move some to hospital in stretchers as flames spread on patches of ground nearby amid burned-out bottles.
Another video showed what looked like a burn scar across the ground close to the city’s old courthouse.
The suspect appears to shout: ‘End Zionists… they are terrorists’ while brandishing a Molotov cocktail bottle in each hand. He also said ‘how many children have you killed?’ according to the ADL Center on Extremism.
Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told a press conference that victims suffered ‘injuries consistent with burns, and other injuries’ and that wounds ranged from ‘minor’ to ‘potentially life-threatening’.
The department told DailyMail.com they are still working to confirm how many people were injured in the attack. They have not yet released the identity of the assailant.
Horrifying video also showed the suspect, a middle-aged man, holding bottles of what appeared to be alcohol for the Molotov cocktails as he shouted at bystanders
Several people have been injured in a ‘targeted terror attack’ involving Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colorado
Shocking video and images from the scene showed several victims laying motionless on the ground beside Israel flags as witnesses rushed to pour water on their wounds
FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted about the incident just after 5.20pm
‘We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,’ said FBI Director Kash Patel just after 5.20pm.
‘Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.’
Boulder Police said they were evacuating several blocks of the typically popular pedestrian mall area, saying that there were ‘several victims’ in the attack.
Chief Redfearn added that the suspect was taken into custody ‘without incident’.
The suspect, who was wearing sunglasses and jeans with no shirt when he was detained, was also taken to the hospital with ‘minor injuries’.
Chief Redfearn did not disclose the motivation behind the attack. ‘It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on,’ he said.
Boulder Police also split with the FBI on whether to call the incident a terror attack, with Redfearn saying it was too early to define the incident.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the horrific attack ‘appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted’.
The suspect appears to shout: ‘End Zionists… they are terrorists’ while brandishing a Molotov cocktail bottle in each hand. He also said ‘how many children have you killed?’ according to the ADL Center on Extremism
Several people have been injured in a ‘targeted terror attack’ involving Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colorado
‘My thoughts are with those injured and impacted by today’s attack against a group that meets weekly on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall to call for the release of the hostages in Gaza,’ Weiser said.
‘From what we know, this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted.’
‘People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,’ he added.
‘Hate has no place in Colorado. 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.’
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino called the incident ‘an act of terror and targeted violence’.
‘All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation. If you have any investigative tips please contact the FBI. And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide,’ he wrote on X.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was ‘closely monitoring’ the situation, adding that ‘hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.’
More images showed cops arresting a shirtless man at the scene, Pearl Street Mall in Boulder
Police and the FBI said the horror unfolded at Pearl Street Mall on Sunday afternoon
Demonstrators met at 1pm at Pearl Street and 8th Street in downtown Boulder to walk the length of Pearl Street Mall.
The weekly event draws attention to the 58 Israeli people who have been held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
‘This is not a protest; it is a peaceful walk to show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and a plea for their release,’ Run For Their Lives said in a statement.
Police asked residents to avoid the stretch of Pearl Street between Walnut and Pine as they continue to investigate.
They later asked people to stop flying helicopters over the scene due to the aircraft disrupting their drone response.
The Boulder attack occurred as law enforcement authorities in the US grapple with a sharp spike in antisemitic violence.
It comes just over a week after a man was arrested over the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC on May 22.
The victims were identified as German-Israeli dual national Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his girlfriend Sarah Milgrim, 26.
Lischinsky had been planning to propose to Milgrim after buying a ring.
The suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, repeatedly shouted ‘Free Palestine’ after shooting them dead, as police dragged him away.
