Eight Injured in Attack on U.S. Rally for Israeli Captives in Gaza

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. authorities arrested a male suspect after eight people were wounded at an outdoor shopping center in Boulder, Colorado, United States. An attack occurred on Sunday, June 1, 2025, when protesters with a volunteer group, 'Run for Their Lives,' gathered to bring attention to the plight of Israeli captives in Gaza. 

The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45 years old, yelled, "Free Palestine." According to Al Jazeera, FBI special agent Mark Michalek said the attacker threw a "makeshift flamethrower" at the demonstrators.

Four women and four men, aged 52 to 88, were taken to the hospital, said the police. Authorities had previously said six people were injured, with at least one in critical condition.

Soliman was detained. No charges have been announced, but officials said they expect the suspect to be held accountable. Soliman was also injured and taken to the hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on Soliman's injuries.

“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek said.

Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said witnesses are still being interviewed. However, he noted that the group gathered to support the hostages in Gaza had come together peacefully.

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

The incident occurred amid rising tension in the U.S. over theIsraeli onslaught in war, which has sparked a surge in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence.

The U.S. is Israel's closest ally, arming a military that has killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children. The blockade in Gaza has left about 2.3 million of the enclave's population on the brink of starvation. Hamas still holds about 58 hostages from the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old student at the University of Colorado who witnessed the attack, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them seemed to have severe burns on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone.

She described seeing a man whom she suspected was the assailant standing in the courtyard, shirtless, holding a glass bottle containing clear liquid and shouting. “Everybody is yelling, ‘Get water, get water,” Coffman said.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was monitoring the situation. He stressed that any act of hatred is unacceptable.

The Boulder Jewish community also condemned the attack. “We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza,” said a member of the community in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera.

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