BOULDER, Colorado: Six people were injured Sunday in a molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colorado, and US federal law enforcement said they were investigating it as an act of terrorism.

Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Denver, said a 45-year-old suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was taken into custody.

The suspect yelled “Free Palestine” as he attacked a crowd with a makeshift flamethrower, the FBI said. No charges were immediately announced but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”

The attack took place at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States.

Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand.

Injuries ranged from serious to minor. Soliman was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities didn’t elaborate on the nature of his injuries.

The attack occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.

FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department — which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations — decried the attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90 percent of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it “would be irresponsible for me to speculate” while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.”

ERIN, Wisconsin: Maja Stark has lost her confidence heading into the US Women’s Open.

Her decision to stop worrying about that sparked her to the biggest title in women’s golf.

The 25-year-old Swede shot an even-par 72 on Sunday and stayed ahead all day. Her four-day total of 7-under 281 at Erin Hills left her two strokes ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan’s Rio Takeda.

“I think that I just stopped trying to control everything, and I just kind of let everything happen the way it happened,” Stark said. “During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body. I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don’t really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.”

Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women’s major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women’s British Open. Stark also won her second career LPGA Tour title.

The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win a US Women’s Open since Annika Sorenstam earned her third title in 2006. The only other Swede to win this event was Liselotte Neumann in 1988.

“They texted me yesterday and just kind of said, ‘Bring it home,’ ” Stark said.

Stark’s steadiness made the difference as she held off Korda and a host of other challengers.

Korda closed with a 71, and Takeda had a 72 to tie for second. Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70) and Mao Saigo (73) tied for fourth at 4 under. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) were 3 under.

Stark’s playing partner, Julia Lopez Ramirez, fell out of contention early on her way to 79 that left her tied for 19th. Lopez Ramirez, who entered the day just one shot off the lead, had a triple bogey on 18.

This was as close as Korda has come to winning a US Women’s Open.

Korda discussed her “complicated relationship” with the US Women’s Open this week, as her best previous finish was a tie for eighth place in 2022 at Pine Needles. She missed the cut at this tournament last year after posting a 80 in the opening round.

“I played this event when I was 14 years old, so maybe a little bit more emotional about it,” Korda said. “I mean, definitely it’s gotten my heart broken a couple times. ... To have that showing last year definitely put a dagger into my heart, but that’s just golf. You’re going to lose more than you win a majority of the time.

“I feel like I actually learn a lot about myself and my game and where I need to improve playing the US Women’s Open because it does test every part of your game.”

Korda birdied Nos. 7 and 8, but missed a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 9 that would have tied her for the lead. Korda’s birdie attempt on No. 9 came minutes after Stark’s bogey-free streak ended at 21 on No. 7.

Stark then extended her lead to three by making a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 11 immediately after Korda missed a par putt of just under 5 feet at No. 13.

Korda, Shibuno and Takeda got within two strokes of Stark with birdies on the par-5 14th, though Korda missed a 14-foot eagle putt and Shibuno missed an eagle attempt from 9 1/2 feet.

Stark then made a birdie of her own on No. 14 to regain her three-stroke advantage at 9 under. She maintained that lead despite bogeying the last two holes.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboards until I was on like 17,” Stark said. “I caught a glimpse of it. It was nice. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought that I would be because it felt like I have somewhat control of my game and I kind of know what’s going on.”

Stark credited caddie Jeff Brighton, a former standup comedian who helped keep her loose by telling jokes and making sure she didn’t dwell on what was at stake.

“We just kind of tried to talk about some stuff and not be too into my own putt,” she said.

Said Brighton: “I would say Maja’s quite an intense player. She tries really hard and is really competitive, so when (a player’s) intense, you’re trying between shots to just get their head away from golf.”

He spoke wearing a cheesehead similar to the ones seen at Green Bay Packers games

Stark maintained her poise well enough to earn a $2.4 million prize in the most lucrative event of the year. Now she just needs to figure out how to spend her winnings.

“Maybe move out of my studio apartment can be one thing,” Stark quipped.