Texas synagogue hostages freed and ‘British’ captor dead after hours-long siege
Police say they are still trying to determine why the man took the rabbi and three other people captive at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville
Michael Daventry is Jewish News’s foreign and broadcast editor
A hostage incident at a Texas synagogue is over after a rabbi and three people were freed and their captor pronounced dead following a police operation that lasted several hours.
The FBI and local SWAT teams had been in place outside the service at Congregation Beth Israel in the town of Colleyville, northwest in Dallas, since Saturday morning, when a Shabbat morning service was interrupted.
There have been suggestions that the captor, who was armed, may have been a British man of Pakistani origin, but officials refused to confirm his name.
The FBI has launched a global inquiry that involves British and Israeli investigators.
The synagogue service was being livestreamed on Facebook with few physical participants because of coronavirus regulations, meaning many hundreds of congregants watched in horror as the man interrupted it.
There was no footage of the moment he entered because viewers were being shown a slide, but audio remained switched on.
A man could be heard ranting, occasionally with expletives, and saying repeatedly that he was going to die.
He was also heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who is serving an 86-year jail sentence in in the nearby town of Fort Worth.
Matthew DeSarno, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, told a press conference: “We do believe that, from engaging with the subject, he was singularly focused on one issue and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community.”
His remarks were first reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a local newspaper.
It is not yet clear whether the hostage taker was shot by himself or by police.
Colleyville police chief Michael Miller said: “[That is] part of the ongoing investigation and it’s still an active crime scene, so while the situation has been resolved, the evidence response team from the FBI is going to be coming in and going to be processing that.
“Bomb techs are clearing the scene as well, so I don’t have a lot of information about that at this point.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
