A man has been charged with two counts of murder after people at a US rally in support of Israeli hostages were targeted with petrol bombs and a makeshift flamethrower.
Despite the charges, authorities are yet to confirm if anyone has died as a result of the attack – and there has been no update on the condition of injured victims.
Four women and four men aged between 52 and 88 were injured and taken to hospitals after being targeted by a man shouting “Free Palestine” in Boulder, Colorado, police said.
The force said the injuries ranged from “very serious” to “more minor” and one of them was in a critical condition.
The FBI says it was a targeted “act of terrorism” and named the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman from El Paso County, Colorado.
Soliman has also been charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of causing serious injury to an at-risk adult or someone over 70 and one count of using explosives or incendiary devices.
Two senior law enforcement officials earlier told Sky News’ US partner network that Soliman is an Egyptian national who seemingly acted alone. They said he has no previous significant contact with law enforcement.
The White House has described the suspect as an “illegal alien” who had received a work permit under the Biden administration despite overstaying a tourist visa.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect threw Molotov cocktails, an improvised bomb made from a bottle filled with petrol and stuffed with a piece of cloth to use as a fuse, into people attending the demonstration.
He also used a “makeshift flamethrower” during the attack, according to Mark Michalek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office.
Police chief Steve Redfearn said the attack happened around 1.26pm on Sunday and that initial reports were that “people were being set on fire”.
“When we arrived we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns,” Mr Redfearn told the media.
The police chief also said he did not believe anyone else was involved.
Boulder’s police chief said the attack happened as a “group of pro-Israel people” were peacefully demonstrating.
The walk is held regularly by a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the hostages who remain in Gaza.
Video from the scene showed a bare-chested man shouting and clutching two bottles after the attack.
Other footage showed him being held down and arrested by police as people doused one of the victims with water.
Nearby there appears to be a large black burn mark on the ground.
Lynn Segal, an eyewitness, said: “These shoots of fire, linear, about 20 feet long, spears of fire, two of them at least, came across right into the group, about 15 feet from me.”
The 72-year-old said two neighbours of hers, a husband and wife in their 80s, were at the demonstration. She added that the wife was one of the victims and appeared to be the most seriously injured.
“They’re both elders in their 80s, and you can’t take something like this assault to your body as easily as someone younger.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on Monday saying he, his wife and the nation of Israel were praying for the full recovery of the people wounded in the “vicious terror attack” in Colorado.
“This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews,” he said.
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