Eight people were injured in the United States on Sunday when a 45-year-old man shouted "Freedom for Palestine" and threw incendiary devices at a crowd in Boulder, Colorado, where a demonstration was being held in memory of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, US authorities said.
Four women and four men, aged between 52 and 88, were taken to hospitals, Boulder police said. Authorities had earlier said six people were injured, one of whom was in critical condition.
"As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a marked act of violence, and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," said US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Mark Michalek, who leads operations in Denver.
Michalek identified the suspect as Mohamed Soliman, who was hospitalized shortly after the attack, Reuters reports.
FBI Director Kash Patel also described the incident as a "targeted terror attack," while Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be a "hate crime, given the group that was targeted."
Bolder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said he does not believe there were others involved.
"We are quite confident that we have the only suspect in custody," he said.
The attack occurred at Pearl Street Mall, a popular shopping center near the University of Colorado, during an event organized by Run For Their Lives, an organization dedicated to drawing attention to the hostages taken after the 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian group designated a terrorist by the US and the European Union.
In a statement, the group said that marches for the hostages have been held every week since then, "without any violent incidents to date."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the victims were attacked "simply because they were Jewish," and that he believed American authorities would hold the "cold-blooded perpetrator" accountable.
"Anti-Semitic attacks around the world are a direct result of slander against the Jewish state and people, and this must stop," he said.
The incident occurred amid heightened tensions in the US over Israel's war in Gaza, which has prompted a surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes and moves by conservative supporters of Israel, led by President Donald Trump, to label pro-Palestinian protests as anti-Semitic.
The Trump administration has arrested anti-war protesters without charges, and has cut off funding to elite American universities that have allowed such demonstrations.
In a post on social media, Trump's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, said the suspect, Soliman, overstayed his visa and was allowed to work under the previous administration. He said it was further evidence of the need for a "complete overhaul" of what he described as "suicidal immigration."
The US Department of Homeland Security has said it will release more information about the suspect as it becomes available. /REL (A2 Televizion)
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