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| FBI investigating multiple-injury attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado | FBI investigating multiple-injury attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Police say they responded to calls of a man with a weapon and found people with injuries consistent with burns | Police say they responded to calls of a man with a weapon and found people with injuries consistent with burns |
| Police said a male suspect was taken into custody after they received calls of someone attacking people with an incendiary device, which injured multiple people on Sunday in downtown Boulder, Colorado. | |
| The Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn said the department received calls at about 1.26pm local time of a man with a weapon in downtown Boulder near the courthouse and people being set on fire. | The Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn said the department received calls at about 1.26pm local time of a man with a weapon in downtown Boulder near the courthouse and people being set on fire. |
| When police responded, they found people with injuries consistent with burns. A suspect was pointed out to officers and a man was taken into custody and then to the hospital with minor injuries. | When police responded, they found people with injuries consistent with burns. A suspect was pointed out to officers and a man was taken into custody and then to the hospital with minor injuries. |
| The chief said only that multiple people had been injured in the attack and their injuries ranged from “very serious” to more minor. | |
| Redfearn said the police were investigating “a vehicle of interest” on the scene, which is closed off. | Redfearn said the police were investigating “a vehicle of interest” on the scene, which is closed off. |
| He asked for patience during the investigation as well as empathy for the victims of the attack. “This act is unacceptable,” he said. | He asked for patience during the investigation as well as empathy for the victims of the attack. “This act is unacceptable,” he said. |
| The downtown area is a walking pedestrian mall, and police said there had been a peaceful protest by a group of pro-Israel people but that they were still investigating whether that group had been targeted. | The downtown area is a walking pedestrian mall, and police said there had been a peaceful protest by a group of pro-Israel people but that they were still investigating whether that group had been targeted. |
| Colorado governor Jared Polis said that he is “closely monitoring” the situation, adding: “My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.” | |
| Phil Weiser, the Colorado attorney general, said it appeared to be “a hate crime given the group that was targeted”. | |
| However, Redfearn, in a news conference on Sunday evening, said they were “not calling it a terror attack at this time”. | |
| “It would be irresponsible of me to speculate on motive this early on,” Redfearn said. | “It would be irresponsible of me to speculate on motive this early on,” Redfearn said. |
| Redfearn said he understands the tensions and issues in the US and that police react accordingly – which could include additional security and other measures – once they had ascertained a clear motive. | Redfearn said he understands the tensions and issues in the US and that police react accordingly – which could include additional security and other measures – once they had ascertained a clear motive. |
| Dan Bongino, deputy director for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) called the incident an “act of terror” in a social media post. “This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts,” Bongino said. | |
| Brooke Coffman, , 19, witnessed the Boulder incident and said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them 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 whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. | |
| “Everybody is yelling: ‘Get water, get water,’” Coffman said. | |
| The Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said he was closely monitoring the situation. | |
| “This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism,” he said. | |
| The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel’s war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crimes as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. | The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel’s war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crimes as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. |
| The attack follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC, where someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. | The attack follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC, where someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. |
| Boulder’s Jewish community center released a statement shortly after the news conference, saying that a group of people had been participating in the Run for Their Lives walk. According to the local chapter, the group hosts walks in downtown Boulder every Sunday. Run for Their Lives is an organization that sponsors events calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas. | Boulder’s Jewish community center released a statement shortly after the news conference, saying that a group of people had been participating in the Run for Their Lives walk. According to the local chapter, the group hosts walks in downtown Boulder every Sunday. Run for Their Lives is an organization that sponsors events calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas. |
| “Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured,” the statement from Boulder JCC said. “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another.” | “Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured,” the statement from Boulder JCC said. “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another.” |