A gunman who took four people hostage at a Dallas-area synagogue and killed himself as federal agents attacked the temple was identified as a British national on Sunday, while police in England said he Two teenagers were taken into custody for questioning in the investigation.
A day-long siege at the Beth Israel synagogue in Collyville, about 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth, Texas, ended Saturday night, with all four hostages released unharmed and the suspect dead. It was unclear whether the gunman took his own life or was killed by members of the FBI hostage rescue team.
The suspect reportedly demanded the release of a Pakistani-origin scientist serving a federal prison sentence in the Dallas-Forth Worth area during a tense 10-hour conversation with officials.
The FBI on Sunday identified the suspect as follows Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a citizen of the United Kingdom, but did not specify how or when he entered the United States.
Akram’s brother Gulbar posted on Facebook that the suspect, from the industrial town of Blackburn in the north of England, was suffering from mental illness and said the family had spent the entire night at the Blackburn police station “in contact with Faisal, negotiators, the FBI, etc.”
“There was nothing we could have said or done to persuade them to surrender,” Gulbar wrote on the Blackburn Muslim Community’s Facebook page.
He said the FBI was going to fly to the UK “later today”, adding that the family may have something else to say.
The brother wrote, “We would like to say that as a family we do not condone any of his actions and sincerely apologize to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident.”
Later in England on Sunday, Greater Manchester Police issued a statement saying that officers from Counter Terror Policing North West in Texas had “made two arrests in connection with the incident”, adding that the two detained juveniles were “interrogated”. are in custody for.”
us President Joe Biden, who was in Philadelphia with First Lady Jill Biden for a visit to celebrate the birthday of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., calling the hostage taking an “act of terror”.
“Allegedly — I don’t have all the facts, neither do the attorney general — but the alleged claim was that they found weapons on the street,” Biden said.
“When he landed he bought them and it turns out there was apparently no bomb that we know of. … Apparently he spent the first night at a homeless shelter.”
sabbath prayer interrupted
Saturday’s siege began late, disrupting Sabbath services as the suspect took the rabbi and three others hostage. One hostage was freed after six hours and the remaining three were freed by the FBI’s hostage rescue team shortly before or during the raid.
Colleyville Police Department’s SWAT teams initially responded to the scene, and FBI agents who arrived later opened up contact with the suspect, who said he wanted to speak to a woman in a federal prison.
The man, who had a one-sided phone conversation during the service’s Facebook livestream, could be heard shouting and talking about Dharma and his sister, repeatedly saying he didn’t want to hurt anyone. , the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
A US official told ABC News that the hostage taker claimed to be the brother of Pakistani neuroscientist Afiya Siddiqui, who is serving a federal prison sentence of 86 years for allegedly shooting at soldiers and FBI agents in 2010, and demanded that he be released. ,
Siddiqui has been kept in a federal medical lockup in the Fort Worth area. A lawyer representing Siddiqui, marwa albiali, told CNN in a statement that the man was not Siddiqui’s brother and that Siddiqui’s family condemned his “heinous” actions.
Although the Texas hostage situation appeared to be an isolated incident, synagogues in New York and across the country increased security in response and officials condemned the anti-Semitic acts.
“The church that happened yesterday in Beth Israel is a reminder that we must speak up and combat anti-Semitism and hatred, wherever it exists,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement. “Everyone has the right to pray, to work, to study and to spend time with loved ones, not like another – but as us.”
In his Facebook post, Akram’s brother, who mentioned the death of a younger brother “barely three months ago”, said the family’s priority is to return Akram’s body for his funeral prayers in the UK, although we Been warned it could take weeks.”
A day-long siege at the Beth Israel synagogue in Collyville, about 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth, Texas, ended Saturday night, with all four hostages released unharmed and the suspect dead. It was unclear whether the gunman took his own life or was killed by members of the FBI hostage rescue team.
The suspect reportedly demanded the release of a Pakistani-origin scientist serving a federal prison sentence in the Dallas-Forth Worth area during a tense 10-hour conversation with officials.
The FBI on Sunday identified the suspect as follows Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a citizen of the United Kingdom, but did not specify how or when he entered the United States.
Akram’s brother Gulbar posted on Facebook that the suspect, from the industrial town of Blackburn in the north of England, was suffering from mental illness and said the family had spent the entire night at the Blackburn police station “in contact with Faisal, negotiators, the FBI, etc.”
“There was nothing we could have said or done to persuade them to surrender,” Gulbar wrote on the Blackburn Muslim Community’s Facebook page.
He said the FBI was going to fly to the UK “later today”, adding that the family may have something else to say.
The brother wrote, “We would like to say that as a family we do not condone any of his actions and sincerely apologize to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident.”
Later in England on Sunday, Greater Manchester Police issued a statement saying that officers from Counter Terror Policing North West in Texas had “made two arrests in connection with the incident”, adding that the two detained juveniles were “interrogated”. are in custody for.”
us President Joe Biden, who was in Philadelphia with First Lady Jill Biden for a visit to celebrate the birthday of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., calling the hostage taking an “act of terror”.
“Allegedly — I don’t have all the facts, neither do the attorney general — but the alleged claim was that they found weapons on the street,” Biden said.
“When he landed he bought them and it turns out there was apparently no bomb that we know of. … Apparently he spent the first night at a homeless shelter.”
sabbath prayer interrupted
Saturday’s siege began late, disrupting Sabbath services as the suspect took the rabbi and three others hostage. One hostage was freed after six hours and the remaining three were freed by the FBI’s hostage rescue team shortly before or during the raid.
Colleyville Police Department’s SWAT teams initially responded to the scene, and FBI agents who arrived later opened up contact with the suspect, who said he wanted to speak to a woman in a federal prison.
The man, who had a one-sided phone conversation during the service’s Facebook livestream, could be heard shouting and talking about Dharma and his sister, repeatedly saying he didn’t want to hurt anyone. , the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
A US official told ABC News that the hostage taker claimed to be the brother of Pakistani neuroscientist Afiya Siddiqui, who is serving a federal prison sentence of 86 years for allegedly shooting at soldiers and FBI agents in 2010, and demanded that he be released. ,
Siddiqui has been kept in a federal medical lockup in the Fort Worth area. A lawyer representing Siddiqui, marwa albiali, told CNN in a statement that the man was not Siddiqui’s brother and that Siddiqui’s family condemned his “heinous” actions.
Although the Texas hostage situation appeared to be an isolated incident, synagogues in New York and across the country increased security in response and officials condemned the anti-Semitic acts.
“The church that happened yesterday in Beth Israel is a reminder that we must speak up and combat anti-Semitism and hatred, wherever it exists,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement. “Everyone has the right to pray, to work, to study and to spend time with loved ones, not like another – but as us.”
In his Facebook post, Akram’s brother, who mentioned the death of a younger brother “barely three months ago”, said the family’s priority is to return Akram’s body for his funeral prayers in the UK, although we Been warned it could take weeks.”
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