Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill into law that will increase the number of young people Colorado can hold in pre-trial detention facilities.

Current law allows the state to detain up to 215 teens at any one time. House Bill 1146 increases that number to 254 in the next fiscal year.

In subsequent years, a formula will determine the maximum bed count, based on the average daily population. The bill also removes the most serious type of felony charges from counting toward the cap, and creates 39 emergency beds that wouldn’t count toward the total bed cap.

The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council spearheaded the bipartisan bill, sponsored by Reps. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, and Dan Woog, R-Frederick, and Sens. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, and Judy Amabile, D-Boulder.

The DA group originally wanted to bump the number of detained youth up to 324, a hike that received forceful pushback from juvenile justice advocates.

Prosecutors argued the state doesn’t have enough beds to house violent youth offenders awaiting trial.

Since fiscal year 2021, detained youth admissions with violent charges have increased by 49%, and admissions for homicide or manslaughter have risen by 80%, state figures show. As a result, prosecutors say, authorities have been forced to release teens who might otherwise be deemed a danger to the public to free up spots for someone else.

Critics countered that the lack of safety in these facilities — highlighted by The Denver Post in March — proves the state should not be dramatically increasing the bed count.

The legislation also includes a body-worn camera pilot program for juvenile detention and commitment staff. The test program in one youth detention facility and one commitment facility requires every staff member who is responsible for the direct supervision of youth to wear a body camera while interacting with them.

The program will be implemented from January 2026 through December 2028. The Colorado Department of Human Services will then recommend whether to continue and expand the program, or eliminate it.

The body-camera addition comes after a Post investigation found widespread allegations of excessive force by staff in the state’s 14 juvenile detention facilities. A year’s worth of internal incident reports reviewed by The Post showed teens suffered broken bones, sustained concussions and overdosed on drugs in these secure centers.

Colorado’s child protection ombudsman, tasked with investigating child safety concerns, has been calling since last year for the state to add body-worn cameras for staff in juvenile detention. Currently, facilities are equipped with video but no audio, making it impossible for investigators to determine whether verbal altercations contributed to excessive force or restraint incidents.

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The first 911 calls reporting the Colorado flamethrower attack were as horrific as they were unbelievable.

“There is a male with a blow torch setting people on fire,” a dispatcher advised the city’s police department, passing on the account of an eyewitness. Another official reported: “Multiple burns, potential terror attack.”

What had been a peaceful rally at the Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall on Sunday in solidarity with hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza quickly turned into a scene of horror, with medical crews arriving to find victims lying or sitting on the ground with their legs and bodies burned – and police holding a suspect face down with a gun at his back.

Members of the public raced from local restaurants with buckets and jugs of water to pour over those who were injured.

The attack by a man hurling molotov cocktails and shouting “Free Palestine” struck at the heart of one of Colorado’s largest Jewish communities, just 10 days after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead in Washington DC by a man yelling the same statement. It also came weeks after an arson attack on the home of Josh Shapiro, the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania, by a pro-Palestinian activist.

“Make no mistake: if and when Jews are targeted to protest Israel’s actions, it should clearly and unequivocally be understood and condemned as antisemitism,” Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a statement.

“These attacks come alongside a broader rise in antisemitism, from hate crimes targeting Jews walking down the street, to efforts to marginalize, isolate, and discriminate against Jews, to antisemitic and white supremacist mass violence targeting synagogues and other spaces.”

Boulder county, where Sunday’s attack took place, had long been considered a safe, “dream community” for Jewish families drawn there over the last decade. Numbers have doubled to represent more than 10% of the county’s 330,000 population.

The eight victims – four men and four women, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, and a mother and daughter – represented a cross-section of a vibrant diaspora in a city with numerous Jewish community centers, schools and businesses.

“What happened here in our local community in Boulder is shameful, and I think people really need to have a sense of accountability,” Fred Greene, rabbi of Boulder’s Har HaShem congregation, told CNN on Monday.

“If we want peace, if we want dignity for people, there have to be other ways than this kind of violence.”

Another expert, University of Boulder Hillel executive director Elyana Funk, told the network that the assault was especially shocking because it targeted a “quiet and respectful” assembly of residents who were taking part in a solidarity walk, which has become popular in numerous Jewish communities around the world since the Hamas terror attack on Israel and taking of hostages on 7 October 2023.

“This wasn’t a pro-Israel rally or some sort of political statement on the war,” she said. “These are peaceful people who’ve been walking for nearly 20 months weekly to bring awareness for the hostages.”

The attack came on the same day as the start of Shavuot, a two-day Jewish festival to celebrate the 50th day after the Passover holiday. Several events were postponed or canceled after the attack, but Funk said resilience would shine through.

“The antidote for antisemitism can be Jewish joy, and Jewish community and Jewish connection,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Boulder police chief, Stephen Redfearn, recalled the community reaction to the 2021 mass shooting at a supermarket in the city that left 10 people dead.

“Boulder is not immune to tragedy sadly and I know a lot of people are scared right now and questioning how this happened and why,” he said at a press conference on Sunday night.

“Boulder has recovered from acts of violence before and we will again recover. I urge this community to come together. Now is not the time to be divisive.”

The attack took place on Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian area of downtown Boulder laced with stores and restaurants, overlooked by the University of Colorado, and a regular venue for the event supporting Run for Their Lives, an organization calling for the immediate release of the Gaza hostages.

Eyewitnesses said the suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, appeared out of nowhere and seemingly singled out individuals taking part in the rally.

“It was easily the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Brian Horowitz, 37, told CNN.

The Denver resident said he was in a cafe with his family when he heard screams and raced to confront the suspect, who was shouting profanities at his victims.

“‘Fuck you Zionists,” Horowitz said the man yelled. “‘You’re killing my people so I kill you.’”

Horowitz added: “There’s someone who is outraged enough to go and attack these elderly people who are doing absolutely nothing to provoke it other than walk in silence and meet in a courtyard peacefully. It’s unbelievable.”

FBI personnel and local police are investigating an attack in Boulder, Colorado that occurred at an event raising awareness for the Israeli hostages, Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino said in a post on Twitter/X.

On Sunday afternoon, a man threw Molotov cocktails at participants of a weekly walking group that raises awareness for the hostages in Hamas captivity.

Local media reported that five people were burned. The injuries range “from very serious to more minor,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said, according to Reuters.

One eyewitness said that one woman was so badly burned that she had to roll on the ground to put the fire out. Walla reported that children were among the five injured. 

The suspect, an adult male, is now in custody, Reuters said. 

In videos of the attack circulated on social media, the suspect is seen walking and shouting “end Zionists” and “Palestine is free” while holding bottles containing clear liquids. 

The video of an alleged terrorist from Boulder Colorado has emerged. He is heard saying “end Zionists” few times, also screams “Palestine is Free” at 28-29 second mark pic.twitter.com/uVNdVpcwlQ

— Michael Elgort (@just_whatever) June 1, 2025

Local authorities said that they could not confirm whether or not it was a terror attack at the time of publication. 

FBI personnel are on the scene in Boulder, Colorado, along with local law enforcement.We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence. All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation. If you have any investigative tips please…

— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) June 1, 2025

“We are saddened and heartbroken,” Boulder’s Jewish Community said in a post on Facebook. “When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another.”

“Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured,” the statement said.

FBI, police investigating Boulder attack 

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday that the agency was aware of and fully investigating the potential terror attack.

While he did not provide further details, Patel said in a post on social media: “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”

Police are asking the public to avoid the expanded evacuation area, they said on Twitter/X. So far, they have evacuated the 1200, 1300, and 1400 blocks of Pearl Street between Walnut and Pine, Colorado, according to local reports.

We have just expanded the evacuation area https://t.co/yHXHs6YdZn pic.twitter.com/5Gt8AUdu6P

— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) June 1, 2025

The weekly walking group, Run for Their Lives, noted that their walk was not a protest, but rather a peaceful gathering to raise awareness for the hostages in Gaza.  

“This is not a protest; it is a peaceful walk to show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and a plea for their release,” the organization said in a statement, as reported by CBS News. 

Colorado governor, Israeli diplomats react

“Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a Twitter/X post.

“My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror,” he said.

I am closely monitoring the situation in Boulder, and my thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to…

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) June 1, 2025

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The Israeli consulate in Los Angeles said that it was monitoring the situation and that it had contacted local law enforcement and the Boulder Jewish community. 

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the attack was caused by antisemitic tropes spread in the media. 

“Shocked by the terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado,” he wrote in a statement on X/Twitter.

“This is pure Antisemitism, fueled by the blood libels spread in the media. I spoke with our Ambassador in the US and our Consul General in LA. I pray for those who were wounded in the attack.

Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser said that he believed that the attack was a hate crime because it targeted members of the Jewish community. 

“This attack appears to be a hate crime given the group that was targeted,” Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser said in a statement. 

“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. Hate has no place in Colorado. We all have the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom to speak our views. But these violent acts—which are becoming more frequent, brazen and closer to home—must stop and those who commit these horrific acts must be fully held to account,” he said.

Jewish Federation proposes steps to Trump administration

“The attack in Boulder is another example of a wave of domestic terror aimed at the Jewish community. This must be the highest priority for the Trump Administration and Congress,” a statement from the Jewish Federations President and CEO Eric D Fingerhut said on Sunday.

The statement outlined six steps that the organization believes the Trump administration should implement, including increasing funding for defense and security organizations that protect Jewish institutions, and aggressively prosecuting antisemitic hate crimes and violence.