Expressing its relief the hostages were not physically hurt and touting its focus on extremist threats to the Jewish community, the FBI noted hostage taker Malik Faisal Akram “spoke repeatedly about a convicted terrorist who is serving an 86-year prison sentence in the United States,” its statement said.
“This is a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted, and is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” the statement said, declining to provide more details due to the continuing investigation.
Akram, a 44-year-old British national, was armed when he entered the Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday morning as the house of worship livestreamed its Sabbath service on Facebook and Zoom, Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller said. The livestream captured a portion of the 11-hour standoff before ending.
Akram took four people, including the synagogue’s rabbi, hostage. One man was released unharmed around 5 p.m., Colleyville police said. The rest of the victims were rescued that evening as an FBI rescue team killed Akram, the agency said.
Two teenagers were arrested in south Manchester, England, in connection with the Texas incident and were awaiting questioning, UK Counter Terrorism Police for Greater Manchester said Sunday.
Hostage taker arrived in the US weeks ago
Akram arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport about five weeks ago, a US law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN. Authorities are investigating how he traveled from New York to Texas.
Akram arrived legally, a separate federal law enforcement source said, and was vetted before his arrival, meaning his information would’ve been cross-checked with classified…
Source : cnn
