On any given Sunday, Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall is where residents stroll, shop and gather as a community. Often filled with music, art and street performances, the shopping area is at the heart of what many people remember and love about the city.

But on Monday, Boulder residents gathering at the mall were still processing the tragic attack that happened yesterday just before 1:30 p.m. outside the Boulder County Courthouse, when 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a group, lighting multiple people on fire.

Eight people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured, four men and four women.

The incident occurred during a weekly event called the “peaceful humanitarian walk for hostages” organized by the group Run For Their Lives, which raises awareness about Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Alexsandra Varela, a store manager at Art Mart Gifts, which is directly across from where the incident occurred, was working when the violence erupted.

She described hearing screams and seeing a man yelling and throwing bottles of what appeared to be alcohol or gasoline at people.

Varela gathered all her employees and customers inside and closed the door, but they could still see the smoke and hear the screams.

“I’m really scared,” she said. “What if someone else does the same thing soon?”

She noted that police arrived swiftly at the scene but she would feel safer if more officers were present at the mall.

Gil Eskayo, a recent CU Boulder graduate, and Caleb Loewengart, a student there, were at the mall Monday with the group Stories of Antisemitism.

The group was founded in 2020 and aims to build bridges of advocacy and cooperation between the Christian and Jewish communities to combat antisemitism.

As a member of the Boulder Jewish community, Loewengart’s first reaction to Sunday’s attack was shock. Scrolling through pictures and videos of the attack on social media, he recognized friends and parents of friends at the protest.

“I think that this, in a lot of ways, is a wakeup call for the non-Jewish community in Boulder,” he said.

Eskayo shared his concern about what he said is a rise in antisemitism around the country.

“I am worried for the future because I believe this act was inspired, probably by the DC acts of violence, and I’m scared for what acts of violence this may inspire in others,” he said.

Both Loewengart and Eskayo want to see a shift toward unity.

Camped out on the mall, their aim was to have conversations with people passing by and, hopefully, come to some better understanding.

“I want to see people looking more toward peace” said Eskayo. “This wasn’t just Jewish people or Israeli people, it’s a walk for peace.”

Alexandra Posnock, 19, recently moved to Boulder. As a member of the Jewish community, she also knew people involved in Sunday’s incident.

“I want to see the city hold people accountable for actions like this. I don’t want to see this guy let off easy,” she said.

Posnock also wants to see police protections for synagogues and Jewish day schools in the area.

“This is a very real threat now against Jews and the Jewish people around America are scared,” she said.

Greg Eckenrode, a longtime Boulder resident, was just at the courthouse Friday for it’s recognition as a national historic LGBTQ+ landmark. He was surprised to see something like this happen in Boulder.

“This is a celebration area, to have something like this happen makes no sense,” he said.

Eckenrode said he is confused to see such tragedy in a joyful space for Boulder, especially in what he views as a “very open” community.

“I’ve never seen the mall this empty but most of the people that are out here are here for the same reason. We’re all appalled at what’s happened and we’re all trying to make sense of it,” he said.

Pearl Street Mall has since reopened, and businesses are back to their usual operation.