Reached outside his home Sunday, Cytron-Walker declined to speak at length about the episode. “He was clearly in extreme distress.”Ĭolleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.’ And he’d laugh at that,” Francis said. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he’d make more threats, like ‘I’m the guy with the bomb. Biden said there were apparently no explosives, despite the threats.
Texas resident Victoria Francis, who said she watched about an hour of the livestream, said she heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb. But John Floyd, board chair for the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations - the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group - said Siddiqui’s brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved. Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Siddiqui as his “sister” on the livestream. Michael Finfer, the president of the congregation, said in a statement “there was a one in a million chance that the gunman picked our congregation.”Īkram used his phone during the course of negotiations to communicate with people other than law enforcement, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. It wasn’t clear why Akram chose the synagogue, though the prison where Siddiqui is serving her sentence is in nearby Fort Worth. London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its counter-terrorism police were liaising with U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not intended to be public. recently on a tourist visa from Great Britain, according to a U.S. Kennedy International Airport in New York about two weeks ago, a law enforcement official said.Īkram arrived in the U.S. Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said Akram allegedly purchased a weapon on the streets.įederal investigators believe Akram purchased the handgun used in the hostage taking in a private sale, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. President Joe Biden called the episode an act of terror. Moments later, several shots and then an explosion could be heard.Īuthorities have declined to say who shot Akram, saying it was still under investigation.
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Video of the standoff’s end from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not say whether the pair faced any charges. The investigation stretched to England, where late Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. The agency noted that Akram spoke repeatedly during negotiations about a prisoner who is serving an 86-year sentence in the U.S.Īkram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. The FBI on Sunday night issued a statement calling the ordeal “a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted” and said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating. And all three of us were able to get out with even a shot being fired.”Īuthorities identified the hostage-taker as 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel around 9 p.m. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door. “The exit wasn’t too far away,” Cytron-Walker said. Cohen recalled rearing up in his chair and slowly moving his head and mouthing “no.” As the gunman moved to sit back down, Cohen said Cytron-Walker yelled to run. At one point as the situation devolved, Cohen said the gunman told them to get on their knees. They talked to the gunman, he lectured them. We weren’t released or freed,” Cohen said.Ĭohen said the men worked to keep the gunman engaged. Later, he heard a gun click as he was praying.Īnother man held hostage, Jeffrey R. He said the man was not threatening or suspicious at first. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told “CBS Mornings” that he let the gunman in Saturday because he appeared to need shelter. COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) - The rabbi of a Texas synagogue said Monday that he threw a chair at the gunman and then escaped with two other hostages after a 10-hour standoff, crediting past security training for getting himself and his congregation out safely.
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