Today's Edition
Washington (dpa)
Six people were injured in an incident that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) called a "targeted terror attack" in the western state of Colorado on Sunday.
FBI special agent Mark Michalek told a press conference the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
Witnesses told the FBI the suspect used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, Michalek said. The attack happened at a regularly scheduled event, he added.
Six people, aged between 67 and 88, were injured and taken to hospital, Michalek said.
"As a result of these preliminary facts it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," he said.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote earlier on X the agency was "aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado."
Earlier, Boulder police chief Steve Redfearn had said it was too early to call it a terror attack and it would be "irresponsible" for him to speculate on the motive. The suspect had been detained and was taken to hospital with minor injuries, he added.
Redfearn said initial calls to police said a man was setting people on fire.
"When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries," he said.
At a later press conference, Redfearn thanked emergency workers who rushed to the scene where the suspect was "throwing Molotov cocktails, and using other devices to hurt people."
One person was seriously injured, Redfearn said, adding it would be "safe to say" that person was in a critical condition. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was closely monitoring the situation.
"My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror," he wrote on X.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said terror had "no place in our great country," in a post on X.
