The FBI is investigating what it describes as a “targeted terror attack” in Boulder, Colorado.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said the department began receiving calls just before 1:30 p.m. Sunday about a man with a weapon setting people on fire outside the county courthouse.
Redfearn said officers responded quickly and found several individuals with burn injuries ranging from minor to very serious.
The suspect, described as an adult male, was identified by witnesses and taken into custody. He was also injured and transported to a local hospital, according to police.
“This act is unacceptable,” Redfearn said during a Sunday afternoon press conference.
Investigators are looking into whether a pro-Israel group holding a demonstration in the area may have been targeted.
“We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza,” a joint statement from Boulder’s Jewish community said.
While the FBI has called the incident a “targeted terror attack,” Redfearn said it is too early to speculate on a motive.
However, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appears that this was a “hate crime.”
“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. Hate has no place in Colorado,” he said. “We all have the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom to speak our views. But these violent acts—which are becoming more frequent, brazen, and closer to home—must stop and those who commit these horrific acts must be fully held to account.”
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