Boulder, Colorado — On Sunday afternoon at a peaceful rally to support Israeli hostages, an unidentified individual attacked participants with incendiary devices, injuring six elderly participants and prompting the FBI to investigate as an “aimed terror attack.” News 5 Cleveland WEWS +2 The Times of India + 2 The Forward At approximately 1:126 PM local time on Pearl Street Mall during a weekly event organized by “Run For Their Lives,” an advocacy group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza, an attacker identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman approached and began throwing Molotov cocktails into the crowd while shouting slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists.” urmari urmari urmari BILDWiki WAPWiki Victims ranged in age from 67 to 88. Two were airlifted to Aurora’s specialized burn unit while four others received care at local hospitals; Rabbi Israel Wilhelm of University of Colorado Boulder reported one severely injured victim as being an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who received treatment there as well. YouTube =13 (WEWS/AWS), Axios=13, Guardian =9 and Times=9. Authorities quickly apprehended Soliman at the scene and transported him for medical treatment of minor injuries at a hospital, although no formal charges have yet been announced against him. Wikipedia; Sky News; New York Post and Politico are reporting his capture; Al Jazeera will cover further developments as they develop. FBI Special Agent Mark Michalek said it is apparent this act of violence is intentional and terrorist-related; Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser supported this claim, suggesting the attack could have been motivated by bias or hatred. Axios +5 Honolulu Star-Advertiser +5 The Guardian +5 News 5 Cleveland WEWS = The Washington Post. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation. Colorado Governor Jared Polis described it as “unfathomable,” especially given that it happened just hours before Jewish festival of Shavuot. Danny Danon, Israel’s UN Ambassador called it an antisemitic terrorist attack targeting Jews; The Times of India +2 The Forward +2 The Times + 2 +1 for news; BBC + 1 This attack comes on the heels of a rise in antisemitic incidents across the US, such as last month’s fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington D.C. The FBI and local authorities continue their investigation of this Boulder incident while additional security measures may be implemented nationwide for similar events (Polito, Reuters, Axios and CBS News all reported on it). Community leaders have voiced serious concern for the safety of Jews living in America. Brandon Rattiner, director of Denver’s Jewish Community Relations Council noted: “Local Jews feel sadness and disappointment over recent events.” As the investigation moves forward, Boulder residents grapple with the aftermath of an attack which has shaken their sense of security and exposed an ongoing risk of ideologically driven violence.
