Source: Boulder Reporting Lab · May 31, 2026
As the first anniversary of the Pearl Street attack approached, Boulder Reporting Lab spoke with rabbis, witnesses and community leaders about grief, memory and carrying on.
Karen Diamond, 82, died from her burns three weeks after the June 1, 2025, attack on a Run For Their Lives gathering on Pearl Street. In May 2026 a Boulder County judge sentenced the attacker to life without parole, with federal hate crime charges still pending. The Boulder JCC organized a commemoration for the victims at the opening of the Boulder Jewish Festival on Pearl Street on June 7.
“Her message to everybody was the only way to respond to such a horrific, hateful act is with love and kindness.”
“Coming back to Pearl Street one year later is both difficult and deeply meaningful for our community.”
“Yes, June 1 happened, but what do I want to do about it?”
Why it matters to us: remembrance is how a community answers violence: by naming those who were harmed and refusing to let hate have the last word.
