Holocaust survivor among victims in Colorado as man charged with murder after 'petrol bomb' attack at pro-Israel rally

Eight people aged between 52 and 88 - including a Holocaust survivor - were injured in the attack.

The 88-year-old was injured along with her daughter, according to a community leader.

Elyana Funk, executive director of the University of Boulder Hillel, said the mother had been "through enough trauma".

Funk told CNN she had spoken to several victims of the attack - including one who had suffered "horrible burns".

No deaths have been reported.

Ms Funk said: “This wasn’t a pro-Israel rally or some sort of political statement on the war.

“These are peaceful people who’ve been walking for nearly 20 months weekly to bring awareness for the hostages.”

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The man reportedly shouted "Free Palestine" in Boulder, Colorado, as he launched the attack at the rally, police said.

Eyewitnesses said the suspect lobbed Molotov cocktails, a homemade bomb constructed out of a bottle filled with petrol and stuffed with a piece of cloth to use as a fuse, into people attending the protest.

Soliman has also received one charge for "extreme indifference". Another relates to "deliberation with intent — nonfamily — gun."

He is also charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, and one count of causing serious injury to an at-risk adult or someone over 70 and one count of using explosives or incendiary devices.

The FBI described the incident, which took place at Boulder Country Historic Courthouse, as a “targeted terror attack”.

Footage on social media shows a shirtless man holding bottles with cloth and clear liquid inside. Videos also show the man being detained at the scene.

Soliman is understood to be an Egyptian national who seemingly acted alone. Authorities said he has no previous significant contact with law enforcement.

Dan Bongino, a deputy director at the FBI, said: "We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence.

Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, called the incident "pure anti-semitism" on social media, adding that the attack is "terrorism" and demanding "concrete action".

He said: "Jewish protesters were brutally attacked. Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border - it is already burning the streets of America."

“From what we know, this attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted," Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser said.

The group of people attacked were said to be peacefully demonstrating to show solidarity for Israeli hostages in Gaza, organised by a group called 'Run for Their Lives'.

Weiser continued: “People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences."

The suspect in the Boulder firebomb attack had reportedly worked at the Veros Health medical clinic in Centennial, Colorado.

He had also spent six months working at the independent physicians practice from early 2024 - sources told CBS News.

It's unclear what his role was at the clinic.

The Department of Homeland Security has said Soliman entered the US in August 2022 on a B-2 tourist visa and was given a 12-month work authorisation in March 2023.

Officials said he overstayed his visa and was in the US illegally.