What do we all know concerning the suspect and victims of the Boulder ‘terror attack’ that left a number of folks injured? | EUROtoday

A peaceable demonstration elevating consciousness for Israeli hostages took a harrowing flip after a person allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set marchers ablaze.

Police in Boulder, Colorado, urged locals to evacuate the realm round Pearl Street Mall after receiving a report at round 2 p.m. on Sunday {that a} man was setting folks on hearth. An grownup man has been arrested in reference to the assault.

Police have shied away from calling the assault “targeted,” however famous that demonstrators have been strolling down Pearl Street on the time of the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel, nonetheless, swiftly described the incident as a “targeted terror attack.”

Witnesses have mentioned they noticed a person throwing what they believed to be Molotov cocktails towards the group. Multiple folks have been injured, however the actual quantity isn’t instantly clear.

Neither the victims nor the suspect have been recognized.

Here’s all the pieces we all know concerning the assault.

What occurred?

Just after 2 p.m., Boulder Police introduced they have been responding to a report {that a} man with a weapon who was setting folks on hearth, Chief Stephen Redfearn mentioned at a Sunday press convention. An hour later, authorities ordered the evacuation of the 1200, 1300 and 1400 blocks of Pearl Street between Walnut and Pine.

“Multiple” folks have been injured, he mentioned, noting that many suffered accidents that have been in line with burns, Redfearn mentioned.

At the time of the assault, Run for Their Lives, a bunch of demonstrators elevating consciousness for the Israeli hostages that stay in Gaza, have been marching on Pearl Street, as they do each Sunday, organizations have mentioned.

Boulder Police have refused to name the assault “targeted” as of Sunday night, however the FBI shortly dubbed the incident a “targeted terror attack.” Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino mentioned the company was “investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence.” He warned: “And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide.”

Victims have been taken to the hospital, affected by accidents starting from minor to “very serious,” the police chief mentioned.

Ed Victor, certainly one of about 30 folks marching, instructed CBS News that the group was peacefully strolling down Pearl Street when the assault occurred.

“So we stood up, lined up in front of the old Boulder courthouse, and I was actually on the far west side. And there was somebody there that I didn’t even notice, although he was making a lot of noise, but I’m just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. And, from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown,” Victor told the outlet.

Another marcher “saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” he said.

Law enforcement has not yet officially confirmed the use of Molotov cocktails, but Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a social media post that an attacker was “throwing Molotov cocktails.” Danon continued: “Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border – it is already burning the streets of America.”

Are there any suspects?

Police have said one adult man was arrested. He has not yet been publicly identified.

What prompted the attack is not immediately clear.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on,” Redfearn said at the press conference.

How many victims were injured?

The exact number of victims is not immediately clear.

Redfearn said “multiple” people suffered injuries, including some that were consistent with burns.

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora told 9News they had received two patients in connection with the attack.

Their identities have not been made public.

What has been said about the attack?

Nonprofit organizations and federal officials have condemned the attack.

“My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation,” Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, wrote in a statement.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Negus, who represents Boulder, said he’s “praying hard” for the victims. “We are closely monitoring, and are in contact with local law enforcement regarding the horrific attack on Pearl Street Mall. Praying hard for the victims,” he wrote on X.

A senior White House official told The Independent that the president has been briefed on the situation.

The Boulder Jewish Community issued a joint statement in the wake of the incident. “We are saddened and heartbroken to be taught that an incendiary machine was thrown at walkers on the Run for Their Lives stroll on Pearl Street as they have been elevating consciousness for the hostages nonetheless held in Gaza. We haven’t got all the small print of what’s unfolding, and we promise to maintain our neighborhood knowledgeable,” the assertion learn. “Our hearts exit to those that witnessed this horrible assault, and prayers for a speedy restoration to those that have been injured.”

The assertion continued: “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another. Strength to you all.”

The Anti-Defamation League additionally issued a press release, saying it’s conscious of the studies of the assault at Boulder Run for Their Lives occasion, which the nonprofit described as “a weekly meeting of Jewish community members to run/walk in support of the hostages kidnapped on 10/7.”

Jim Berk, the CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, denounced Sunday’s assault and talked about the current killing of the couple working at Israel’s embassy in Washington D.C.

“This marks the second violent assault on Jewish and pro-Israel civilians in the U.S. in less than two weeks—a chilling escalation that cannot be dismissed as coincidence. On May 21, two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down in cold blood in Washington, D.C., and now the extremist violence has come to Boulder, CO,” mentioned Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk.

“Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism. The nonstop demonization of Israel and Zionism on our campuses, in our streets, and across digital platforms has created a climate where hate flourishes, and physical attacks—even murder—of Jews is inevitable.”