Six wounded as man attacks Colorado crowd with firebombs

Several people were injured in an attack at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, police said on Sunday.

The attack occurred at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall known for attracting tourists and college students.

FBI Director Kash Patel said an investigation had been launched following a “targeted terror attack.”

“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” Patel said on X. 

He added: “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”

He did not provide any further information while Boulder police said it was too soon to speculate about a motive.

Suspect identified and taken into custody

Later on Sunday, the suspect was identified as a 45-year-old who shouted “Free Palestine” and used incendiary devices in the attack, said Mark Michalek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver field office.

The man was taken into custody.

No charges were immediately declared but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”

FBI official Michalek said there were six victims, aged between 67 and 88 years old, who were taken to hospitals for treatment.

The suspect was also injured and taken to hospital, but authorities didn’t elaborate on the nature of his injuries.

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said he did not believe anyone else was involved. “We’re fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody,” he said.

“This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,” Redfearn said at an earlier press conference. “I ask that you join me in thinking
about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.”

‘Terror has no place’ in the United States, says Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took to X to denounce the attack.

“We’re united in prayer for the victims of a targeted terror attack this afternoon in Boulder,” Rubio posted. “Terror has no place in our great country.”

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that the attack occurred at Sunday’s “Boulder Run for Their Lives” event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community to remember and raise visibility for the Israeli hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said he was closely monitoring the situation. “This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism.”

The attack comes over a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted “Free Palestine” was taken into custody by police.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on social media that it was “unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York also expressed outrage at the attack. “Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said in a statement.

“Today, in Boulder, Colorado, Jewish people marched with a moral and humane demand: to return the hostages. In response, the Jewish protesters were brutally attacked, with an attacker throwing a Molotov cocktails at them,” he said. “Make no mistake — this is not a political protest, this is terrorism.”