Certainly, six people were injured in the American state of Colorado on Sunday during a memorial for Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. A man threw Molotov cocktails at attendees. One victim is still in critical condition. The suspect has been arrested.
The incident occurred around 1:30 PM in Boulder, about 45 kilometers from Colorado’s largest city, Denver. A 45-year-old man allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” as he threw the Molotov cocktails at the crowd.
The six victims are between 67 and 88 years old and were taken to a nearby hospital in Denver, the FBI reported afterward at a press conference. One of the injured is a Holocaust survivor, according to CNN.
The incident happened on a street in the busy center of Boulder, where a weekly memorial for the Israeli hostages in Gaza was taking place. The organization of that memorial, Run for Their Lives, says that the memorials have been taking place without violence for a year and a half, “until today.”
The FBI is treating the case as an “act of terrorism.” According to the federal police service, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence. The suspect has been identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman. He was also taken to the hospital with injuries.
Suspect acted alone
According to local police, Soliman acted alone and there are no other suspects. CNN reports that he will be prosecuted sometime in the coming days. He will likely be charged at the federal level, according to the American news channel. The White House reports that President Donald Trump is aware of the incident.
Witnesses tell news agency Reuters that they saw several people lying on the ground with severe burns. A nineteen-year-old student tells the news agency that someone was wrapped in a flag to stop the fire.
Images show a screaming man without a shirt and sunglasses holding a bottle with a clear liquid. According to BBC News, that would be the suspect.
Extra security measures for Jewish holiday Shavuot
The attack takes place shortly after two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot dead. Since then, the debate surrounding the war in the Gaza Strip has been highly charged, American media report.
The attack in Boulder is strongly condemned by prominent politicians. Governor Jared Polis of the state of Colorado says in a statement that it is “incomprehensible that the Jewish community is once again confronted with a terrorist attack here in Boulder.”
Sunday evening marked the start of the three-day Jewish holiday of Shavuot, during which Jews celebrate Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. Police in Boulder say they are taking extra security measures for Shavuot. In New York, police are also extra alert to security threats during the Jewish holiday, reports CNN.