Latest connected Boulder promenade onslaught
Eight radical were injured successful an onslaught Sunday successful Boulder, Colorado, wherever peaceful demonstrators were marching to enactment Israeli hostages successful Gaza, authorities said.
The incidental is being investigated arsenic an enactment of terrorism, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which described it arsenic targeted. The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, was taken into custody. He is facing aggregate felony charges arsenic good arsenic a national hatred transgression charge.
Here is what we cognize truthful far.
What happened successful Boulder?
The onslaught occurred astatine astir 1:30 p.m. Sunday astatine the outdoor Pearl Street Mall successful Boulder, adjacent the historical County Courthouse successful the city's downtown. It was the tract of a march held to advocator for the hostages who were taken from confederate Israel by Hamas militants connected Oct. 7, 2023, and person yet to beryllium released.
Witnesses said the fishy utilized a "makeshift flamethrower" and Molotov cocktails to harm demonstrators, leaving aggregate radical with burns, according to the FBI. The 8 who suffered injuries had been lasting extracurricular of the courthouse. In the aftermath, a pain scar was disposable successful beforehand of the courthouse building.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polish, who is Jewish, condemned the attack, calling it a "heinous and targeted enactment connected the Jewish community."
The FBI's Colorado bureau said those who attended the march were participating successful a scheduled, play event. Organized by the radical Run for Their Lives, section branches clasp assemblage walks and runs successful antithetic cities wrong Colorado, astir the state and internationally.
"We are a section section of the planetary inaugural Run For Their Lives," reads the statement of the Boulder chapter's Facebook page. "We bash an 18 infinitesimal play locomotion to amusement planetary solidarity with the hostages taken from Israel during the 10/7 massacre, and inactive being held successful Gaza. We volition locomotion until they are each released."
Rachel Amaru, an organizer astatine Run for Their Lives successful Boulder, called the onslaught "blatantly antisemitic" successful comments to CBS Colorado. It took spot little than 2 weeks aft 2 Israeli Embassy employees were killed in a shooting extracurricular of the Capital Jewish Museum successful Washington, D.C., which is besides being investigated arsenic a hatred crime.
Omer Shachar, a co-leader of Run for Their Lives Denver, told CBS News the radical contacted Boulder constabulary respective times astir information concerns astir the lawsuit anterior to Sunday. CBS News has reached retired to Boulder constabulary for comment.
Who was injured successful the Boulder attack?
Police said the victims of the Boulder onslaught included 4 women and 4 men, whose ages scope from 52 to 88. One of them was earnestly injured, according to Boulder Police Chief Stephan Redfearn, who said the idiosyncratic had been hospitalized successful captious condition.
The 88-year-old is simply a Holocaust exile who fled Europe, according to Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad manager astatine the University of Colorado Boulder. Wilhelm described her arsenic a "very loving person."
Another unfortunate is simply a prof astatine the university, the rabbi said.
Two of the injured were flown by chopper to the pain portion astatine UCHealth, and 4 others were taken to Boulder Community Health, according to constabulary and the hospitals. All of the patients astatine Boulder Community Health had either been discharged oregon transferred elsewhere aboriginal Sunday night, the infirmary said, though it did not specify however galore were discharged versus transferred.
Who is the Boulder onslaught suspect?
The fishy was identified arsenic Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, FBI Special Agent successful Charge Mike Michalek said Sunday. He is facing aggregate felony charges and a national hatred crimes charge.
Witnesses allegedly heard Soliman outcry "Free Palestine" during the attack, according to Michalek, who said it was "clear this is simply a targeted enactment of violence." Two sources told CBS News that witnesses who spoke to investigators besides alleged the fishy shouted "End Zionist" during the attack.
The fishy told investigators helium "researched connected YouTube however to marque Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to bash so, and constructed them," an affidavit filed by the Department of Justice says.
He besides "stated that helium wanted to termination each Zionist radical and wished they were each dead," the affidavit says.
Soliman is an Egyptian national, authorities officials confirmed to CBS Colorado. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the fishy archetypal arrived successful the United States successful August 2022, primitively connected a non-immigrant visa that expired successful February 2023. She said helium filed for asylum a period aft arriving successful the U.S., successful September 2022, but did not supply details astir the result of that migration lawsuit oregon whether it was resolved.
Soliman had precocious been surviving successful Colorado Springs, astir 100 miles southbound of Boulder.
After the attack, authorities evacuated 3 blocks of Pearl Street for the remainder of the time arsenic they probed a conveyance of involvement successful the area, which an FBI authoritative aboriginal said belonged to the suspect. On Sunday night, the FBI said it was "conducting court-authorized instrumentality enforcement enactment related to the attack" successful El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs.
FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard person referred to the incidental arsenic a violent attack.
"The @ODNIgov's National Counterterrorism Center is moving with the FBI and section instrumentality enforcement connected the crushed investigating the targeted panic onslaught against a play gathering of Jewish assemblage members who had conscionable gathered successful Boulder, CO to rise consciousness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas' onslaught connected Israel connected Oct. 7," Gabbard wrote successful a societal media post.
Soliman's erstwhile employer, an independently owned aesculapian session successful Centennial, Colorado, called Veros Health, told CBS News that helium had a valid enactment visa portion employed determination from May 2023 to August 2023.
"We tin corroborate that Mohamed Soliman worked with Veros from May 2023 to August 2023. He was hired successful our accounting department," Roni Mushovic, a determination concern person astatine Vero, said successful a statement, noting that Soliman underwent the hiring process done ADP, which handles quality resources for the clinic.
"At the clip of hire, helium was confirmed to person a valid enactment Visa, which was noted to expire connected March 2025," Mushovic said.
Prior to Sunday's attack, Soliman was driving for Uber, which required him to person a valid Social Security number, CBS News has learned. According to an Uber spokesperson, helium passed a inheritance cheque and provided a photograph ID and Social Security fig erstwhile the institution hired him successful the outpouring of 2023, and passed different inheritance cheque "about 9 months ago."
Christa Swanson, Pat Milton, Andrew Haubner and Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.
Emily Mae Czachor is simply a quality exertion astatine CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, utmost upwind and issues involving societal and transgression justice. Emily Mae antecedently wrote for outlets similar the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
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