BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man with a makeshift flamethrower yelled “Free Palestine” and threw an incendiary device into a group that had assembled to raise attention for Israeli hostages in Gaza, law enforcement officials said Sunday. Six people were injured, some with burns.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was expected to face charges in connection with the attack the FBI was investigating as a terrorist act.
Soliman was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities didn’t elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand.
The attack took place at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. It occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, allegedly by a Chicago man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.
“Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country,” said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office, which encompasses Boulder. “This is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across the nation.”
Law enforcement officials investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Law enforcement officials dress up in protective gear to investigative an attack on the Pearl Street Mall, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Law enforcement officials dress in protective gear to investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Law enforcement officials investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Law enforcement officials investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it “would be irresponsible for me to speculate” while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed 10 people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Lynn Segal, 72, was among about 20 people who gathered Sunday before the attack. They had finished their march in front of the courthouse when a “rope of fire” shot in front of her and then “two big flares.”
She said the scene quickly turned chaotic as people worked to find water to put out flames and find help.
Segal, who said she is Jewish on her father’s side and has supported Palestine for more than 40 years, was concerned that she might be accused of helping the suspect because she was wearing a pro-Palestine shirt.
“There were people who were burning, I wanted to help,” she said. “But I didn’t want to be associated with the perpetrator.”
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.”