An attack in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday left multiple people injured after a man reportedly threw Molotov cocktail-like liquid near a group attending a walk in support of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Police said the male suspect has been arrested.
FBI Director Kash Patel later called the incident a “targeted terror attack,” though local police said it is too early to confirm the motive.
VIDEO SHOWS SUSPECT ARGUING WITH CROWD
A video shared on social media shows the alleged suspect holding what looked like Molotov cocktail bottles on Pearl Street, where the attack occurred. In the video, he argues with a group of pro-Israel demonstrators and locals. At one point, he says, “I can, I can,” and asks, “How many children have you killed?” When a woman speaks to him, he points to the group and says, “They’re jealous.”
Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old student at the University of Colorado, witnessed the attack. She saw four women on the ground with burns on their legs. One woman had severe burns on most of her body. Coffman described the attacker as a shirtless man holding a glass bottle filled with clear liquid, shouting in the courtyard.
“Everybody is yelling, ‘get water, get water,'” Coffman said as quoted by Reuters.
KASH PATEL CALLS IT ‘TARGETED TERROR ATTACK’
FBI Director Kash Patel called the attack a “targeted terror attack.” While Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be “a hate crime given the group that was targeted.” However, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said it was too early to say for sure what the motive was.
“We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,” Redfearn said, adding that victims suffered burns in the incident. He also said the information about the case was “very preliminary” and that the suspect had been taken to the hospital. The police chief mentioned the injuries ranged from very serious to more minor.
The attack occurred amid rising tensions in the United States over the war in Gaza. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said, “This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism.”
The Boulder attack comes after another violent attack last month in Washington, D.C., where a man was arrested for shooting two Israeli embassy employees. The victims were leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, a group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
With input from agencies