ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A violent hate crime hundreds of miles away has faith leaders in Northeast Florida on high alert.
On Sunday, federal agents say 45-year-old Mohammed Soliman used a homemade flamethrower to attack a Jewish group in Boulder, Colorado, injuring eight people.
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The group had gathered for a weekly demonstration supporting the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. According to the FBI, Soliman shouted “Free Palestine” during the assault, later confessed, and said he would do it again.
The attack triggered immediate concern at Temple Bet Yam in St. Augustine, where security is already a top priority.
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“We got the alert this morning and shared it with our board right away,” Temple President Teresa Freedman said. “We take every incident seriously—even when it’s hundreds of miles away.”
Temple Bet Yam is part of a network that includes a former FBI agent who monitors threats and distributes real-time alerts to synagogues across Northeast Florida.
“Every synagogue in Northeast Florida is looped in,” Freedman said. “We all get the same alerts, the same briefings—and we act fast when needed.”
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Though she said recent bomb threats to local Jewish organizations haven’t resulted in violence, Freedman isn’t taking any chances. The temple is equipped with indoor and outdoor security cameras and holds events only when armed guards are present.
“We just held a drill during a community gathering to test our emergency plan,” Freedman said. “We may be small, but we’re not unprotected. We’ve done everything we can to keep our members safe.”
Temple officials say they will continue evaluating and adjusting security measures as national threats evolve.
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