Hostages safe after standoff; captor dead
COLLEYVILLE, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that all hostages are safe after Saturday’s standoff inside a Dallas-area synagogue.
“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Mr. Abbott tweeted Saturday night.
The man who held the hostages was dead, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Mr. Abbott’s tweet came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue. Details of the rescue were not immediately clear.
At least four hostages were initially believed to be inside the synagogue, according to three law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The synagogue’s rabbi was believed to be among the hostages, one of the officials said. One of the officials said the man claimed to be armed but authorities had not confirmed whether he is.
The Colleyville Police Department said one hostage was released uninjured shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. The man was expected to be reunited with his family and did not require medical attention.
Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials
said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.
The officials said investigators have not positively identified the man and cautioned that the information was based on a preliminary investigation as the situation was still rapidly developing.
A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Siddiqui’s release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911.
Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated
from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokesperson Katie Chaumont said. There have been no reported injuries, Ms. Chaumont said.
“It’s an evolving situation, and we have a lot of law enforcement personnel on scene,” Ms. Chaumont said.
The services were being livestreamed on the synagogue’s Facebook page for a time. The Fort Worth StarTelegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which didn’t show what was happening inside the synagogue.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the man said, “You got to do
something. I don’t want to see this guy dead.” Moments later, the feed cut out. A Meta company spokesperson later confirmed that Facebook removed the video.
Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Siddiqui as his “sister” on the livestream, but Faizan Syed, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations in Dallas Fort-Worth Texas, told The Associated Press that Siddiqui’s brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved. Mr. Syed said CAIR’s support and prayers were with the people being held in the synagogue.
Texas resident Victoria
Francis told the AP that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out. She said she heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb.
“He was just all over the map. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he’d make more threats, like ‘I’m the guy with the bomb. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.’ And he’d laugh at that,” she said. “He was clearly in extreme distress.”
Ms. Francis, who grew up near Colleyville, tuned in after she read about the hostage situation. She said it sounded like the man was talking to the police department on the phone, with the rabbi and another person trying to help with the negotiations.
Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth. The synagogue is nestled among large houses in a leafy residential neighborhood that includes several churches, a middle and elementary school and a horse farm.
Congregation Beth Israel is led by Rabbi Charlie CytronWalker, who has been there since 2006 as the synagogue’s first full-time rabbi. He has worked to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion and learning to the community, according to his biography, and he loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people,into the congregation.
Anna Salton Eisen, a founder and former president of the synagogue, said the congregation has about 140 members and Rabbi CytronWalker has worked hard to build interfaith relationships in the community, including doing pulpit swaps and participating in a community peace walk. She described Saturday’sevents as “surreal.”
“This is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. You know, it’s a small town and it’s a small congregation,” Ms. Eisen said. “No matter how it turns out it’s hard to fathom how we will all be changed by this, because surely we will be.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had been briefed and was receiving updates from senior officials.
CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, condemned the attack Saturday.
“This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell saidin a statement.