Boulder assault updates:'makeshift flamethrower' causes 'act of terror' that injures eight

A suspect used what authorities are calling a "makeshift flamethrower" to carry out a "act of terrorism" against a group of pro-Israel protesters on a Boulder, Colorado, pedestrian plaza on Sunday afternoon.

According to a Sunday night update from Boulder Police, eight persons were admitted to hospitals due to burn injuries. According to authorities, all of the victims, who ranged in age from 52 to 88, were sent to nearby hospitals.

According to the authorities, one person was in critical condition.

Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek stated that the FBI has identified the culprit as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was heard shouting "Free Palestine" while brandishing a "makeshift flamethrower" and hurling an incendiary device into the crowd.

According to authorities, Soliman was apprehended without incident and sent to a hospital for examination.

According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the incident is being investigated as a "targeted terror act." Deputy Director Dan Bongino stated that the FBI believes the attack was "ideologically driven violence" based on "early intelligence, the facts, and witness statements."

The Boulder attack occurs during a period of increased violence, which includes well-publicized attacks on the Jewish community.

The purpose of the Run for Their Lives walk, a pro-Israel protest, was to draw attention to the remaining hostages in Gaza. "Calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas," the group's website states, it organizes international run and walk events.

An "incendiary device" was thrown at walkers, according to Leo Terrell, chairman of the Justice Department's antisemitic task force.

Terrell went on, "This was not a unique incident." "There is a terrible and growing wave of violence against Jews and their sympathizers only for being Jewish or for defending Jewish life," he stated, referring to this antisemitic terrorist act.

Shavuot is a Jewish holiday, and the incident took place on its eve, "making it all the more frightening and horrible," Terrell added.

In a statement to ABC News, the group's spokesperson, Miri Kornfeld, said that one of the men leading the walk called the scene "the floor burning beneath them."

Kornfeld, who was not present at the Boulder walk, said that all future Run for Their Lives events have been postponed until further notice.

A senior White House official told ABC News that President Donald Trump has been briefed on the "targeted terror incident."

"Any act motivated by hatred is intolerable. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said on X, "The state works with local and federal law enforcement to help this investigation while details emerge." Polis called the incident a "heinous act of terror."

Boulder Police, while calling the attack a "tragedy" and "unacceptable," initially stopped short of calling the incident terrorism and did not want to speculate on the suspect's move, according to Chief Stephen Redfearn.

The incident occurred just before 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at the intersection of 13th Street and Pearl Street.

Police responded to reports of a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire.

When they arrived, there were multiple victims at the scene with injuries consistent with burns, police said. Police said four of the victims were taken to Boulder Community Hospital and two others were airlifted to a burn unit in Aurora. Apart from the victim with serious injuries, the others were believed to be more minor, Red fearn said.

Last month, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, D.C. in what was labeled as a "act of terror."

The shooting sparked outrage and has been condemned as a "unspeakable" act of antisemitism after officials said the suspect, who is in custody, shouted "free, free Palestine" following the shooting

In April, the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, was targeted by an arsonist who allegedly made two Molotov cocktails from Heineken bottles he had at home and threw them inside the governor’s mansion after breaking a window with a hammer, according to court documents.

The attack happened after the governor had posted about celebrating Passover with his family.