Bulder, Colorado (AFP) – Law enforcement officials said on Sunday that a man with a temporary launcher screaming “Palestine is free” and threw a burning device in a group that gathered to collect attention to the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Six people were wounded, some with burns.
The suspect, Muhammad Sabri Suleiman, 45, was expected to face accusations regarding the attack in which the FBI was being investigated as a terrorist law.
He exploded from violence in the famous pedestrian center, Pearl Street, a four -block area in the city center, which was revealed against the background of the war between Israel and Hamas, which continues to thumb global tensions and contributed to a rise in anti -smiling violence in the United States. This barely happened a week after a man also cried “Free Palestine” of shooting two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish Museum in Washington.
“Unfortunately, such attacks have become very common throughout the country,” said Mark Michelk, the private agent responsible for the Denver Field Office at the FBI, which includes Bulder. “This is an example of how the perpetrators of violence continue to threaten societies throughout the country.”
Officials said that the six victims who were wounded from 67 to 88 and wounds extended from serious to a minor.
The attack occurred as people with a volunteer group called Run For Lives concluded with their weekly demonstration to raise the view of the hostages staying in Gaza. A video clip of the scene shows a witness shouting, “He is there. He throws Molotov cocktails”, as a police officer as he advanced his rifle on a naked suspect who carries containers in every hand.
Lyn Sejal, 72, was among about 20 people who met on Sunday. They ended their career in front of the court when a “rope of fire” fired the fire in front of it and then “two big minds.”
She said that the scene soon turned chaos, as people worked to find water to put out fire and find help.
Sejal, who said she was Jewish by her father and supported Palestine for more than 40 years, was concerned that she might be accused of helping the suspect because she was wearing a shirt in support of Palestine.
She said, “There were people who were burning, I wanted to help.” “But I did not want to be linked to the perpetrator.”
The authorities did not reveal details about Solomon, but they said that they believed that he had acted alone and that no other suspect had been searched. No criminal charges were announced immediately, but officials said they would move to Solomon’s accountability. He was also injured and was taken to the hospital for treatment, but the authorities did not clarify the nature of his injuries.
The leaders of the FBI immediately announced that the attack on the act of terrorism, and was condemned by the Ministry of Justice as “an unnecessary violence, which follows the recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
The Vice -Director of the FBI Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
The Israeli war began in Gaza when the militants led by Hamas in southern Israel stormed on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapped about 250 others. They still carry 58 hostages, about a third of believed to be alive, after most of the rest were launched in the ceasefire agreements or other deals.
The military campaign of Israel has killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza in Hamas, most of them are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which does not say the number of civilians or fighters. The attack destroyed vast areas, explained about 90 % of the population and left people almost completely dependent on international aid.
Violence comes four years after the shooting of a grocery store in Bulder, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Denver, which killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder after the jury refused his attempt to avoid imprisonment by not guilty declaration due to madness.
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian center were evacuated by the police. Soon after the attack, he was tense, as law enforcement agents walked with a police dog in the streets in search of threats and ordered the public to stay in the mall.
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Associated Press Press Bretani Peterson and David Zalubovski in Buldder, Colorado, Kimberly Crossce in Proventins, Rod Island, Steve Carnovsky in Minneapolis, Alana Durkin Richer and Michael Pescker in Washington and Jim Mustan in New York.