Boulder police say "makeshift flamethrower" used in antisemitic attack that injured 8

Police say a man used a "makeshift flamethrower" in an antisemitic attack on Sunday that left eight people injured in Boulder, Colorado.

“The initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told reporters, per Colorado Public Radio. “When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.”

The attack took place Sunday afternoon as people gathered for a weekly vigil held for Israeli hostages in Gaza. Those injured ranged in age from 52 to 88, with two victims seriously wounded.

Local police and the FBI say the alleged attacker, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, shouted "Free Palestine" as he attempted to set people on fire. He was detained after appearing to accidentally set himself ablaze, according to the Associated Press.

The attack comes less than two weeks after a man shot and killed two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC. The suspect in that incident also shouted "Free Palestine."

Lynn Segal, a 72-year-old woman who participated in Sunday's vigil, noted in an interview with the AP that the attack came despite the fact that participants such as herself support the Palestinian cause. In Israel, family members of hostages are largely critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war effort, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.