Washington: Police in the US state of Colorado have taken into custody a man for throwing fire bomb at demonstrators who were calling for release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Six people suffered burn injuries in what the FBI called a ‘targeted terror attack’ on an event organized by Run For Their Lives on Pearl Street Mall in the city's downtown, news agency AFP reported.
Police in the city of Boulder detained Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, after the man allegedly threw a homemade Molotov cocktail at the group.
Footage showed Soliman, wearing only jeans and sunglasses, pacing in the lawn holding clear bottles in both hands, yelling ‘End Zionists!’ ‘Palestine is Free!’ and ‘They are killers!’
Soliman came to the US on a visa issued by the Biden administration, said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller terming him an 'illegal alien'.
Soliman, who according to Fox News came from Egypt, illegally overstayed the visa but was reportedly given a second chance alongside issuing a new work permit.
As he went about brandishing bottles alongside screaming, people gathered around him and began filming him.
This was happening against the backdrop of smoke billowing not far away from there, just as several people were tending to a person lying on the ground.
FBI chief Kash Patel responded to the incident on X saying: ‘We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.’
Meanwhile, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it was too early to ‘speculate’ on the motive behind the attack.
The officer said that they were initially alerted about a man with a ‘weapon and that people were being set on fire’.
‘When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries,’ Redfearn was quoted as saying.
Police have taken into custody the suspect without ‘incident’, he added.
With inputs from Daily Mail, UK