1 day ago
15
Updated
Multiple people sustained “burns and other injuries” in downtown Boulder, Colo., on Sunday afternoon, authorities said, after an attack on a group raising awareness about Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. The injuries ranged from serious to minor, the city’s police chief said, though the total number of people hurt was not immediately clear.
A suspect was detained but was not being publicly identified. The police chief, Steve Redfearn, said it was too early to confirm a motive for the attack. But federal law enforcement officials in the Trump administration were quick to label it terrorism. On social media, the director of the F.B.I., Kash Patel, called it a “targeted terror attack.”
Here’s what to know:
Calls for help: Calls about an emergency on the Pearl Street pedestrian mall near Boulder’s county courthouse came in starting at 1:26 p.m. local time, the chief said in a news conference. Initial reports mentioned a man with a weapon and said people were being set on fire. Chief Redfearn said investigators were not entirely certain of what happened, but the report was “fairly consistent with the injuries that we found on scene.”
Suspect arrested: The suspect, who had minor injuries, was taken into custody after witnesses pointed the person out, the chief said. Videos on social media showed a man, shirtless and holding two bottles, shouting while bystanders helped injured people nearby. Patches of grass in front of the courthouse were on fire.
A peaceful gathering: A joint statement from Boulder’s Jewish community said that an “incendiary device” was thrown at people participating in the Run for Their Lives event bringing attention to the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. “Our walk has been nothing ever but peaceful, and this was a blatant act of antisemitism on the streets of Boulder,” said Rachel Dvora Amaru, a leader of the group.
“Appears to be a hate crime”: The attorney general of Colorado, Phil Weiser, a Democrat, said in a statement that “this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted.” He added, “People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences.”
