Multiple injured and man arrested in ‘targeted terror attack’ in Boulder, Colorado

Multiple people have been injured and a man has been taken into custody after an incident in a public pedestrian mall in Boulder Colorado, which the FBI has described as a “targeted terror attack”. 

Chief of the Boulder Police Department, Steve Redfearn, told reporters on Sunday, local time, authorities received a call at 1:26pm that indicated a man armed with a weapon was setting people on fire.

The police chief also said the incident occurred in an area near to where a group of “pro-Israel people” were holding a “peaceful demonstration”, however authorities are working to determine if they were the target of the attack.

Chief Redfearn said police and paramedics who responded to the call treated “multiple victims” and said they had “injuries consistent with burns”.

Those people were first taken to the Boulder Community Hospital with injuries ranging in severity from “very serious” to “minor”, and some were later transported to other hospitals.

Mr Redfearn said some of the victims had “life-threatening” injuries.

An adult male who was taken into custody at the scene was also transported to hospital with “minor injuries”. Authorities are still working to identify him.

“This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act is unacceptable,” Mr Redfearn said.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate on motive this early on.

“We’ve got dozens and dozens of people here working through this to work out exactly what happened.”

Mr Redfearn also said that investigators are continuing to secure the area in which the incident occurred, and are examining a “vehicle of interest”.

Earlier, FBI director Kash Patel said federal authorities were also responding to the incident.

“Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available,” he said in a post on social media.

The Boulder Police Department has evacuated several blocks of the popular pedestrian mall area.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.”

The attack comes just weeks after a Chicago-born man was arrested after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC. 

In that incident, someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.

That shooting fuelled polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

ABC/AP

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