The FBI on Sunday identified British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44, as the person who took hostages in a showdown at a Texas synagogue.
Two teenagers were also arrested in Britain in connection with the hostage situation, Greater Manchester Police. announced on Twitter. They were arrested Sunday night, police said, and remained in custody for questioning as of 7 p.m. ET.
Greater Manchester Police did not name the suspects or whether they faced charges. FBI Dallas spokeswoman Katie Chaumont referred questions to Manchester police.
Dallas FBI Chief Matthew DeSarno said the investigation involved Britain and Israel, and that the shooter focused on an issue not directly related to the Jewish community. The London Metropolitan Police said Akram was from the Lancashire area of northwest England and that British counter-terrorism police worked with US authorities on the case.
None of the four hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, a city of 26,000 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth, was injured. DeSarno did not discuss how Akram died, but said in a statement Sunday that the shooting would be reviewed.
hostages included Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who said Sunday that the attacker was “increasingly belligerent and threatening” in the last hour of the confrontation. Cytron-Walker expressed her gratitude to law enforcement for their efforts and to many others for their prayers.
“I am grateful and full of appreciation for all the vigils and prayers, love and support, all the law enforcement and first responders who took care of us, all the safety training that helped save us,” Cytron-Walker wrote on a Facebook mail. “I’m thankful for my family. I’m thankful for the CBI community, the Jewish community, the human community. I’m thankful we made it. I’m thankful I’m alive.”
SAFE SYNAGOGUES: All Texas Synagogue Hostages Safe after hours of confrontation
A law enforcement official who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity said Akram demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who is serving 86 years in a Texas prison for trying to kill Americans in Afghanistan. Siddiqui is suspected of having links to Al Qaeda. Akram reportedly wanted to talk to Siddiqui, who is in a federal prison in Fort Worth.
Police and FBI crisis negotiators responded Saturday morning to Congregation Beth Israel. Akram took four hostages, although one man was released, according to the Colleyville Police Department. The standoff ended when an FBI SWAT team stormed the building.
President Joe Biden, visiting a food pantry in Philadelphia on Sunday morning, said the hijacker bought guns off the street and may have recently arrived in the United States, spending his first night at a homeless shelter. Akram’s immigration status and history were not immediately available.
“Rest assured, we are focused,” Biden said. “The attorney general is focused and making sure that we deal with these types of acts.”
Siddiqui was detained in 2008 by Afghan authorities along with handwritten notes referring to an “attack with mass casualties” and listing various locations in the US, including the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. Other notes concerned the construction of dirty bombs and reconnaissance drones, underwater bombs and gliders, according to federal prosecutors.
When US officials attempted to interview Siddiqui in Ghazni, Afghanistan, she grabbed an Army officer’s M-4 rifle and fired at an officer and other members of the interview team, declaring her intent to kill Americans.
Marwa Elbially, Siddiqui’s attorney in Texas, told USA TODAY that Siddiqui was not involved in the hostage situation and that her only brother, an architect who lives in Houston, confirmed that he had nothing to do with it either.
John Floyd, chairman of the Houston board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group stood in solidarity against the “anti-Semitic attack on a house of worship.” Floyd, an attorney for some members of Siddiqui’s family, said they strongly condemn the attack.
“Dr. Aafia’s family has always been steadfast in advocating for her sister’s release from incarceration through legal and non-violent means only,” Floyd said in a statement, and the attack “directly undermines those of us who seek Justice for Dr. Afia.”
Saturday services at Congregation Beth Israel were streamed live on the synagogue’s Facebook page. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the live stream, which did not show what was happening inside the synagogue.
Shortly before 2 pm, the man said, “You have to do something. I don’t want to see this guy dead.” Moments later, the transmission cut off. Meta Platforms, Facebook’s corporate successor, confirmed that Facebook had removed the video.
New York rabbi Angela Buchdahl said she was brought into the negotiations before the crisis was over. Buchdahl, chief rabbi of the Central Synagogue and a leading figure in Reform Judaism, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the gunman called her and she spoke twice to the assailant. The Central Synagogue said Buchdahl had no relation to the attacker and “immediately contacted the police and followed their instructions” after receiving the first call.
“It was a surreal and scary day,” Buchdahl told the agency. “I am very grateful for the result.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he thanked Texas Governor Greg Abbott for “the resolute action of law enforcement in Texas that brought the event to a peaceful conclusion, for his strong stand with the Jewish community, his support for Israel and for its fight against anti-Semitism.
Contributing: Kevin Johnson, Claire Thornton and Josh Meyer, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
feeds.feedblitz.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism