BOULDER – A minimum of six individuals marching in help of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been burned on Sunday by a person wielding what authorities known as a “makeshift flamethrower” and an incendiary system.
The assault occurred simply earlier than 1:30 p.m. on Boulder’s Pearl Avenue Mall, throughout a stroll organized by the town’s chapter of “Run for Their Lives,” which requires the discharge of hostages held in Gaza by the terrorist group Hamas.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old man whom bystanders identified to cops exterior the Boulder County Historic Courthouse, was arrested, Michalek mentioned.
Soliman used a makeshift flamethrower and threw incendiary gadgets into the gang gathered exterior the courthouse to hurt them, Michalek mentioned, saying the person yelled “Free Palestine” throughout the assault.
Movies present individuals dashing to pour water on one sufferer whereas others lay collapsed close by.
“It’s almost like it was a gun of fire,” mentioned Lynn Segal, who witnessed the assault. “It’s like a line of fire.”
The six victims have been between the ages of 67 and 88, Michalek mentioned. 4 have been taken to the Boulder Neighborhood Well being hospital and two have been airlifted to the College of Colorado’s burn unit in Aurora with extra extreme accidents.
Police arrested a shirtless man on the scene, who was proven in movies posted to social media holding glass bottles and shouting “Free Palestine” and calling to “end Zionists.”
Requested about Soliman’s affiliations with every other teams, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Readfearn mentioned the investigation – which incorporates the FBI – was ongoing, although he mentioned authorities have been virtually sure that the suspect acted alone. He mentioned Soliman sustained minor accidents and was handled at an space hospital.
Few particulars have been out there about Soliman late Sunday evening. He doesn’t seem to have any presence on social media – an Egypt-based trend influencer with the identical identify doesn’t match the particular person caught on video by witnesses – and he doesn’t have a felony file in Colorado, court docket data present.
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement couldn’t be reached for touch upon Soliman’s immigration standing.
“Boulder is not immune to tragedy, sadly,” Redfearn mentioned. “I know a lot of people are scared right now, a lot of people are upset and questioning how this happened and why. All I know Boulder has recovered before from acts of violence, and we will again recover.”
Individuals who have been evacuated off of the Pearl Avenue Mall wait to have entry again close to the scene of an assault in Boulder, Colorado on June 1, 2025. (Photograph by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Publish)
Johanna Schmidt, whose dad and mom usually participated within the Boulder walks held by the group, mentioned she was on the best way to the occasion along with her youngsters when her mom known as and advised her that somebody had thrown a Molotov cocktail on the group and that Schmidt’s father had been burned.
Molotov cocktails are sometimes bottles full of gasoline or alcohol which are then ignited and thrown.
Schmidt mentioned the scene was “chaotic,” “absolutely horrific and shocking.” Her father sustained a second-degree burn and was launched from the hospital Sunday night.
Movies posted to social media present a lady mendacity on the bottom whereas individuals pour water on her, as smoke and screams erupt from the realm. One other video exhibits the shirtless man holding the bottles and shouting. Within the background, bystanders may be seen huddled over somebody on the bottom.
“He’s right there, he’s throwing Molotov cocktails right there,” one particular person may be heard saying to police in a single video. Police then handcuffed the person close to the fountain in entrance of Boulder’s courthouse.
Later, a Reddit consumer posted images and movies of a lady with a burned leg sitting on the garden with paramedics, one other particular person being loaded onto a stretcher, and folks gathered in entrance of the constructing, now blocked with crime tape.
In an announcement, Run for Their Lives mentioned its “greatest concern at this moment is the well-being of the members of our group, most especially those who have been hospitalized.”
“We are dedicated to our mission that this is an international humanitarian crisis and that no one should ever be taken hostage and kept underground in tunnels without basic humanitarian needs and aid,” the group wrote.
In an announcement Sunday, Gov. Jared Polis, who lives in Boulder, known as the assault a “heinous act of terror.” Nationwide Jewish organizations condemned the assault and linked it to different current violence that’s unfolded in the USA in response to the struggle in Gaza, together with the killing of two Israeli embassy workers members in Washington, D.C., and the fireplace that tore via the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who’s Jewish.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder mentioned in an announcement the Boulder assault was a part of a “broader wave of hate.”
“It is not just the Jewish community that suffers,” Lauder wrote. “This violence tears at the very fabric of our societies. We call on law enforcement and government leaders – at every level, in every state, in every country – to act decisively.”
Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza started when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 individuals, largely civilians, and abducting about 250 others. The group nonetheless holds 58 hostages — which Sunday’s stroll was meant to protest. Round a 3rd of the hostages are believed to be alive, after many of the relaxation have been launched in ceasefire agreements or different offers.
Israel’s army marketing campaign has killed over 54,000 individuals in Gaza, largely girls and youngsters, in line with Gaza’s Well being Ministry. The offensive has destroyed huge areas, displaced round 90% of the inhabitants and left individuals virtually utterly reliant on worldwide assist.
Horrified and enraged
Xale Chartier was heading to a downtown parking construction when he noticed first responders lining thirteenth Avenue on Sunday afternoon. His first thought was that there was some type of mass-casualty incident.
By the point Chartier received to the courthouse, a couple of individuals have been nonetheless being handled by paramedics and he might see an oily residue on the bottom, together with flags and footwear scattered close by, he mentioned.
“It was a very grim and unsettling scene,” Chartier mentioned. “I grew up in Boulder and I’ve never experienced anything quite like that.”
Alexandra Posnack, 19, was at her Boulder residence about 5 minutes away from Pearl Avenue when associates on the scene began texting her that somebody had thrown a Molotov cocktail on the group holding the weekly demonstration calling for the discharge of Israeli hostages.
“I’m horrified and I’m also enraged, and I will be back here next week to protest with my big-ass Israeli flag,” she mentioned.
Brandon Hoover, 28, mentioned the assault doesn’t appear actual.
He and his girlfriend have been strolling down Pearl Avenue when out of the blue there have been flames and “the smell of flesh,” he mentioned.
“I thought, ‘Holy crap, that could have been any one of us on Pearl Street,’” Hoover mentioned. “…Once you see something that traumatic, it’s going to stick with you.”
Hours later, the scene was nonetheless being swept by hazmat, canine and bomb disposal groups, Redfearn, the Boulder police chief, mentioned. Components of Pearl Avenue, together with the 1200 via 1500 blocks, had been evacuated.
That part of the mall remained closed to the general public as police cleared the realm and investigated a “vehicle of interest,” Redfearn mentioned.
Boulder resident Henry Bonn-Elchones, 18, was downtown getting lunch with associates when he noticed smoke and burn marks and an Israeli flag on the bottom by the courthouse.
He by no means heard an explosion. However he mentioned first responders and legislation enforcement swarmed the realm and later watched as two older girls have been loaded into ambulances.
‘Hate-filled acts’
Native political leaders condemned the assault on Sunday.
“Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable,” Polis mentioned in an announcement on social media. “While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who represents Boulder in Congress, known as for Individuals to cease the unfold of antisemitism.
“Tonight, as many prepare to mark the Shavuot holiday, our Jewish community has been subjected to yet another brutal and horrific act of violence,” mentioned the congressman, whose district contains Boulder. “We stand with the Jewish community — today and always — and will be united in supporting the victims and their families, and to redoubling our efforts to stop antisemitism.”
Colorado Legal professional Common Phil Weiser wrote in an announcement that the assault seems to be a hate crime and that he had supplied his workplace’s help to Boulder District Legal professional Michael Dougherty.
“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” he wrote. “… 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.”
Initially Revealed: June 1, 2025 at 1:47 PM PDT
