16th January, 2022
All of the four hostages held by a gunman at the Colleyville synagogue in Texas have been released.
“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” says Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Local police confirmed the rescue, saying, “The SWAT situation in Colleyville is resolved and all hostages are safe.”
Among the four freed hostages was Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker.
The identity of the hostage taker remains unknown.
The gunman, who was initially wrongly identified as Muhammad Siddiqui has also been shot dead.
The identity of the hostage taker remains unknown.
The unidentified suspect was dead, US Rep. Beth Van Duyne said..
He had claimed to be the brother of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in Manhattan Federal Court in 2010 of trying to kill US authorities in Afghanistan.
She is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in nearby Fort Worth, according to public records.
The hostage drama began just after 10:30 a.m. Texas time, according to the Colleyville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The synagogue called Congregation Beth Israel was streaming its service and had 8,000 viewers before it was cut off at 2 p.m..
During the broadcast, the man could be heard saying, “If anyone tries to enter this building, I’m tellin you … everyone will die,” and could be heard repeating, “I’m going to die. Don’t cry about me,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
Police in Colleyville, a community near Dallas-Fort Worth, dispatched a SWAT team to the residential neighborhood surrounding the temple.
They warned residents to stay away from the immediate area, according to social media and a tweet by Colleyville police.
The angry man can be heard ranting about religion on the ongoing livestream, the Fort Worth Telegram reported.
However, the video did not show what was taking place in the temple, and it was unclear how many people were in the synagogue, the newspaper reported.
Just after 5 p.m. Texas time, a male hostage was released from the synagogue, said Sgt. Dara Nelson of the Colleyville PD, who added that FBI Crisis Negotiators continued to have contact with the assailant.