I threw a chair at him and we ran – rabbi in heroic escape from the siege
THE rabbi of a Texas synagogue raided by a British terrorist last night told how he and worshippers managed to escape after throwing a chair at the hostage-taker.
Charlie Cytron-Walker ‘saw an opportunity’ and took it after 11 hours being held at gunpoint by Malik Faisal Akram.
TV footage captured the rabbi and two hostages fleeing through a side door with 44-year-old Akram in pursuit, pointing his weapon before turning back inside where he was later shot dead by the FBI.
The drama began when Akram knocked on the door of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, 27 miles from Dallas, to ask for shelter. Rabbi Cytron-Walker said he invited Akram in and made him a cup of tea during the Shabbat service before returning to prayer.
The rabbi said yesterday: ‘My back was
‘I heard a click – it was his gun’
turned, we face towards Jerusalem when we pray. Right before he revealed himself, I heard a click and it could have been anything and it turned out it was his gun.’
One of the four hostages was released around 5pm local time on Saturday, leaving Rabbi Cytron-Walker, 46, and two male congregants. The mood turned dark in the 11th hour and it was then that he decided to put into use the training he had received from the FBI and local police.
As Akram turned ‘increasingly belligerent and threatening’, the rabbi knew they needed to escape. He said: ‘They teach you in those moments when your life is threatened you need to do whatever you need to get out.
‘He (Akram) wasn’t getting what he wanted, it didn’t look good, it didn’t sound good.
‘We were terrified and when I saw an opportunity where he wasn’t in a good position, I made sure that the two gentlemen with me were ready to go.
‘The exit wasn’t too far away. I told them to go, I threw a chair at the gunman and headed for the door and all three of us were able to get out without a shot being fired. It was terrifying, it was overwhelming, we’re still processing. It’s completely overwhelming. You do what you have to do.’
New details emerged yesterday about how Akram travelled from his home in Blackburn to the US to carry out the attack.
He arrived at New York’s JFK airport on December 29 and said on his immigration form he was going to be staying at an unassuming £60 hotel in Queens.
Akram soon made his way to Texas where he stayed in Christian shelters for the homeless and, according to President Joe Biden, bought an illegal gun on the street.
The terror then unfolded from 11am on Saturday when, having walked around for ‘16 hours’, Akram told hostage negotiators, he chanced upon the synagogue.
Akram told the negotiators he was ‘walking around with what I have in my bag, and with my ammo’. Had he been confronted by a police officer, he said ‘he was gonna die. He would have gotten shot in the head, straight away’.
Akram is said to have chosen the temple because it the closest synagogue to a prison where a terrorist known as ‘Lady Al Qaeda’ is in jail. During the standoff Akram repeatedly demanded that the woman, Aafia Siddiqui, be freed.
His entry to the building was live streamed on the internet because the service was being broadcast to allow congregation members to join in from home.
‘It’s a glass door. I made a knock on it. He let me in,’ Akram said on footage of him speaking to police. ‘And I go “Oh, my word”. Because I did pray. Before everything, I did pray, I said God – I don’t want to shoot anyone to get in.
‘I can see they’re good guys, They let me in. I didn’t look nice. They let me in. I said “Is this a night shelter?” and they let me in.
And they gave me a cup of tea. So I do feel bad.’
Speaking to CBS, Rabbi CytronWalker said: ‘When I took him in I stayed with him, making tea was an opportunity for me to talk. I didn’t hear anything suspicious. Some of his story didn’t quite add up so I was a little bit curious.’
As the hours went by, Akram’s mood veered from conciliatory to threatening, those watching on in horror said.
At one point he told an FBI negotiator: ‘We have no casualties. I am really happy with that.’
But another time Akram said: ‘I’m sorry, bro. I’m pumped up. I’m armed up. Guess what? I will die. I will die.’
‘You do what you have to do’