Biden called the seizure of the synagogue “an act of terrorism.”
The suspect who took four hostages at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, was 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram.
It is reported by ABC News.
It is noted that the man was shot dead by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who broke into the synagogue to save the hostages. According to police, there are no others involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden called the seizure of the synagogue “an act of terrorism.” According to him, the suspect was in the country for only a few days and spent at least one night in a homeless shelter.
The American leader noted that Akram had a gun with him, which he allegedly bought on the street, but investigators did not find evidence that he had explosives.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who was taken hostage along with three synagogue attendees, wrote on social media on January 16 that he was “grateful to be alive.”
He added that he had previously taken shooting and security training with members of his community at the Colleyville Police Department. The rabbi encouraged other Jewish communities, religious groups and schools to receive similar training.
“In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became more and more belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker shared. “Without the instructions we received, we would not have been ready to act and flee when the situation presented itself.”
Recall that an unknown person took hostage the rabbi and three visitors to the Colleyville synagogue during the morning service on Saturday, January 15, at about 10:40 am local time. The man claimed to have planted several bombs in the synagogue.
Negotiations with the suspect for about ten hours were conducted, in particular, by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Residents of the area were evacuated.
After 17:00 local time, one of the hostages left the synagogue. He did not need medical attention and was soon reunited with his family.
The attacker, for his part, demanded the release of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted of attempting to assassinate US military while in custody in Afghanistan. The woman was suspected of having links with the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
He also wanted to speak to Siddiqui, who is serving time in a Texas federal prison, officials said. However, the rescue group subsequently made a “weighted decision” to break into the synagogue in order to free the hostages and eliminate the criminal.
A Pakistani neuroscientist with degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aafia Siddiqui, was sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on charges of assaulting and shooting at US Army officers after being detained in Afghanistan.
