Christal Hayes and Ana Faguy
BBC News
Watch: Eyewitness captures moments during Colorado attack
Multiple people have been injured after a man shouting “free Palestine” tossed Molotov cocktails at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Colorado, authorities say.
Police said eight people – aged between 52 and 88 – were hurt in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.
The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect had used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.
Footage of the attack shows the suspect, who was shirtless, screaming at the group, holding what appears to be Molotov cocktails in each hand when he was arrested.
The attack unfolded during a weekly scheduled demonstration put on by Run for Their Lives, a pro-Israeli group that holds walks in the outdoor pedestrian mall in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Police received calls around 13: 26 local time (19: 26 GMT) on Sunday about a man with a weapon and people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told a news conference.
Officers who responded found multiple injured, including people with burns.
One of those hurt in the attack was a Holocaust survivor, according to Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Wilhelm described the 88-year-old as a “very loving person” to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
The attack is the second high-profile act of violence in the US in the last two weeks that appears to be related to the conflict in Gaza.