Eight people were injured in Sunday’s attack in a group of people from Boulder, Colorado, who were campaigning for the release of prisoners of war held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
Police arrested a man who allegedly threw agitator at people. The FBI said it was investigating the attack as an “act of fear.”
In a social media post, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saa described the attack as an anti-Semitic act.
Here’s what we know so far:
What happened in Boulder, Colorado?
According to an official news release shared by the Boulder Police Department, the group of people aimed to be a “regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event” aimed at promoting support for the release of prisoners of war in Gaza when it was attacked. Police were called at 1:36pm (10:36 GMT).
The news release said witnesses saw the attackers use makeshift flamethrowers when they lobbed an agitator intended to cause a fire at the rally.
A video of the witness circulating on social media showed that a shirtless man holding two glass bottles looked like a Molotov cocktail.
What is Molotov Cocktail?
Molotov cocktails are a very simple instigation weapon. It consists of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid covered in a core. This is on fire before the bottle is thrown at the target.
They were named after Vyakeslav Molotov, the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union during World War II. In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, and the country experienced heavy bombing. Molotov claimed that the Soviet Union had not dropped the bomb.
In response, the Finns threw homemade explosives at Soviet tanks, ironically calling them “Molotov cocktails.”
Where did the attack occur?
The attack took place at Outdoor Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder, which stretches to four blocks. It is home to retail stores, art galleries and restaurants. The mall is a two-minute drive from the University of Colorado Boulder University, or 1.1km (0.7 miles).
What event was the victim attended?
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued a statement Sunday, saying the attack was “against a group we meet every week at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder to seek the release of hostages in Gaza.”
The Antiformation League (ADL), a nonprofit focused on the fight against anti-Semitism, was accused of double standards in January of defending a salute by billionaire Elon Musk at a US President Donald Trump’s inauguration rally — issued a statement that the event is part of an international campaign called “Ranfor Life.”
The campaign includes weekly gatherings from around the world where members of the Jewish community run and walk in solidarity in solidarity with prisoners of war taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Their run for their lives will be in 230 countries in 24 countries, including Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain. Several US groups are taking part in the event, and there are two locations in Colorado. One is in Boulder and the other in Washington Park, Denver.
The armed Palestinian group won about 251 prisoners of war from Israel on October 7th. Some returned in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but others were taken prisoner. Approximately 59 prisoners are believed to remain in confinement, and Israel believes 35 have died.
More than 61,700 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7th due to Israeli military bombings and other attacks, according to the Gaza government’s media office.
Who was the suspect and what did he say during the attack?
Boulder attack suspects have been identified as Mohamed Sabri Soliman, a 45-year-old man from El Paso County, according to a news release from Boulder Police.
Soliman was also injured in the attack, but the nature of his injuries is unknown.
The release states that Soliman was medically evaluated at the hospital and subsequently booked at the Boulder County Jail on multiple charges. This release did not specify exactly what these fees were.
According to a news release, Soliman cried out “Free Palestine” during the attack.
Stephen Miller, the policy director for the White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff, claimed in an X’s post that the Boulder attack was caused by “illegal aliens.”
Without naming Soliman, Miller said the suspect had overstayed the tourist visa granted to him by former US President Joe Biden’s government. “In response, the Biden administration granted him a work permit. Suicide immigration must be completely reversed,” Miller wrote.
Al Jazeera was unable to independently examine Soliman’s immigration status in the United States.
What do you know about the victims?
Law enforcement officials said eight people were injured. These include four women and four men, ages 52 to 88.
The victim was taken to a hospital in the Denver metropolitan area.
How is the authorities responding?
The Boulder Police Department called the FBI within minutes of the attack, the news release said. The FBI is investigating this as a terrorist attack.
“This act of fear is being investigated as an ideologically motivated act of violence based on early information, evidence and witness statements,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote in the X-Post. “We’ll speak clearly about these cases when facts justify it.”
FBI director Kash Patel wrote in an X post that his team was investigating “targeted terrorist attacks” and that FBI agents and law enforcement were already on the scene.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem wrote in a post on X that the department is working on the situation with “interagency partners,” including the FBI.
What’s the latest on the ground?
All roads in downtown Boulder have been reopened except for the Pearl Street block, with the exception of the Boulder Street block, “we should resume in the coming hours.”
What was your reaction?
“We will continue to ensure that justice is pursued promptly, that support is provided to victims and their communities, and that precautions are taken to protect the safety of all,” FBI Denver special agent Mark Mikalek was quoted in a Boulder Police news release.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfern admitted that many residents were scared and questioned the attack. “Boulder has recovered from violence before, but we will recover again. I urge this community to come together. Now is not the time to split,” he was quoted in the same news release.
Israeli Foreign Minister Saa wrote to X on Monday: “I was shocked by the horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado, a pure anti-Semitism nurtured by the blood-ties that spread across the media,” he did not elaborate on what this meant.
US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote X: “Tonight, the peaceful demonstrations were targeted for despicable, anti-Semitic acts of fear. Again, Jews are shaking from repeated acts of violence and fear.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote to X on Sunday:
We are united in prayer for the victims of a targeted terrorist attack in Boulder this afternoon.
Fear has no place in our great nation.
– Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) June 1, 2025
Many Democrats have issued online statements denounce the attack and describing it as anti-Semitism.
Less than two weeks after a horrifying anti-Semitic attack at the Capitol Jewish Museum in DC, and after two years of relentless attacks that surged anti-Semitic attacks across the country, the Jewish community was once again shattered by pain and heartbreak.
Tonight, a peaceful demonstration…
– Chuck Schumer (@senschumer) June 2, 2025
Massachusetts democratic senator Elizabeth Warren wrote about X:
Another terrible attack, this time in Boulder, Colorado. My idea is with the victims, their families, and the Jewish community that once again appears to have been targeted by hatred. We are all responsible for stopping these anti-Semitism acts. https://t.co/kraa3wwhpi
– Elizabeth Warren (@senwarren) June 2, 2025
Democrat Houseming Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement on X, saying, “Our heartfelt prayers, together with all Jewish brothers and sisters, affected by this ruthless act of fear, would like to thank them for their prompt response.
My statement regarding the anti-Semitism attack in Boulder, Colorado. pic.twitter.com/eupdnl9m6k
– Hakeem Jeffries (@Repjeffries) June 1, 2025
Has a similar event been held recently?
On May 22, a man named Elias Rodriguez was charged after fatally shooting and killing two Israeli embassy staff workers in Washington, D.C. He was charged with killing a foreigner, causing death with a firearm, and abandoning a firearm for a violent crime.