A man has reportedly used a “a makeshift flamethrower”, to set people alight in Colorado in what the FBI says was a “targeted terror attack”.
Witnesses have described rushing to help those set alight in the frightening incident on Sunday afternoon (local time) in the city of Boulder.
“All of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown. [Another marcher] saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” witness Ed Victor told CBS News.
Victor said he and others tried to help the injured person, aided helped by another marcher with medical experience.
The attack happened on the fringes of a weekly walk coordinated by an organisation called Run For Their Lives that honours Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Video of the scene circulating on social media and verified by US news agencies shows a shirtless man waving bottles filled with clear liquid in the air as he screams indistinctly.
Another witness, 19-year-old University of Colorado student Brooke Coffman said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs.
One appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting.
“Everybody is yelling, ‘get water, get water,'” Coffman said.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was arrested in the minutes after the incident.
“This attack happened at a regularly scheduled, weekly, peaceful event. Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift
flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. The suspect was heard to yell, ‘Free Palestine!’ during the attack,” Mark Michalek, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Denver field office, said.
He said the FBI was processing the crime scene and Soliman’s vehicle, as well as interviewing witnesses.
“As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek said.
“Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country. This is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across our nation.”
FBI director Kash Patel also described the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be “a hate crime given the group that was targeted”.
The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said he did not believe anyone else was involved.
“We’re fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody,” he said.
Police initially said six people had been injured. In a later update, they said four women and four men aged 52-88 were taken to hospital.
“The last update I had is that at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition, and then other victims received more minor injuries,” Redfearn said.
The attack took place on the Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian shopping district in the shadow of the University of Colorado.
“There was a lot of people out — a very beautiful day,” Redfearn said.
Police evacuated multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s attack. They remained blocked off into Sunday night as multiple teams, including the canine and bomb squads and hazmat officials scoured the area, Redfearn said.
Authorities were still working on clearing the area for devices.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable”.
“While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation. More information will be provided as it becomes available,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said it was an anti-Semitic attack.
“This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism,” he said on X.
The Boulder incident came as law enforcement across the US grapples with a spike in antisemitic violence.
Last week, a man was arrested over the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC. He shouted “Free Palestine” as he was being led away by police.
-with AAP
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