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Police in the United States say a male suspect has been taken into custody after an attack that left multiple people with burns in Boulder, Colorado, in what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director described as a “targeted terror attack”.
Information on the attack, which occurred near a demonstration to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza, was “very preliminary,” Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn said.
However, he noted the man was apprehended following calls to police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was “setting people on fire”.
According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
FBI director Kash Patel described the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and said agents were on the scene, while Colorado attorney-general Phil Weiser said it appeared to be “a hate crime given the group that was targeted”.
However, Redfearn stressed it was too soon to speculate about a motive.
“We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,” Redfearn said, noting that victims sustained burns.
“This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon (early Monday AEST) in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,” he said.
“I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.”
Redfearn said he wasn’t in a position to identify the suspect yet, noting that he’d been taken to the hospital. He said there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging “from very serious to more minor”.
Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
The shooting fuelled polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated
