(Headline USA) Several people were injured and some may have suffered burns Sunday in what the FBI immediately described as a “targeted terror attack” at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, where a group had gathered to raise attention to Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
However, police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it “would be irresponsible for me to speculate” while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire.
Police Chief Steve Redfearn in Boulder, Co. says suspect in custody after several people “set on fire” in attack. Victims were walking to raise awareness of hostages still in Gaza when an incendiary device was thrown at them, according to Boulder JCC. @livenowfox pic.twitter.com/t3SrqslwQN
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) June 1, 2025
One man who authorities did not immediately identify was taken into custody. Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand.
The FBI later identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamad Soliman, who allegedly yelled “FREE PALESTINE” during the incident.
🚨 #BREAKING: FBI has CONFIRMED the attacker in Boulder, Mohamad Soliman, 45, yelled "FREE PALESTINE"
He used a FLAMETHROWER and Molotov cocktails to attack elderly demonstrators.
HE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE! This will get worse if we don't ramp up mass deportations NOW! pic.twitter.com/TqAIcsVKOO
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 2, 2025
The attack took place at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. It occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.
It’s unclear why a Jewish event in a liberal city apparently had no security amidst a heightened terror environment. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have both signaled that they intend to redirect bureau resources to combat antisemitism.
No security at a Jewish event in a liberal city, in a heightened terror environment, at a time when the FBI is looking for any justification to redirect its counterterrorism resources towards antisemitism.
Got it 👍 https://t.co/i8dxPRnn3L
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) June 2, 2025
FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department — which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations — decried the attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall.
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.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
