TX - Malik Faisal Akram 44, shot dead by LE in hostage situation @ synagogue, Colleyville, Jan'22

[imstilla.grandma]

Police in Colleyville, Texas are "conducting SWAT operations" Saturday afternoon.

WFAA in Dallas reports an officer at the scene described it as a hostage situation. Officials have not released further information.

We are currently conducting SWAT operations around the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Rd. All residents in the immediate area are being evacuated. Please avoid the area.
Colleyville Police
@ColleyvillePD
UPDATE 1/15/22, 1:20 PM The situation at the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road posted about earlier remains ongoing. We ask that you continue to avoid the area. We will continue to provide updates via social media.
Report: Dallas-area police responding to hostage situation


The FBI is assisting the Texas Department of Safety with a hostage situation at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.

Heavy police activity has been reported at Congregation Beth Israel Saturday afternoon. The Colleyville Police Department tweeted they are conducting a SWAT operations that remains ongoing.

Colleyville Police Sgt. Dara Nelson reported there is “no threat to the general public” at this time, according to CNN.
FBI assisting with hostage situation at synagogue in Texas

 

[meanmaryjean]

Per Twitter this is a Reformed Jewish congregation holding Shabot services.

 

[sds71]

Erielle Reshef
@ErielleReshef

Hostage situation at synagogue - Congregation Beth Israel in Texas.
One suspect has taken the Rabbi and 3 others hostage at a synagogue in Colleyville, TX. The hostage-taker is claiming to be armed and says his sister is Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in New York of trying to kill US military personnel.

@MikeSington

Hostage was streaming live from Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville Texas. You can hear the gunman talking. Facebook has cut the feed. Situation is ongoing.


@AaronKatersky

Hostage taker is Muhammad Siddiqui and claims to be Aafia Siddiqui's brother. He is demanding her freedom from an 86-year prison sentence https://abcnews.go.com/US/armed-man-takes-hostages-texas-synagogue-source/story?id=82285896….

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Colleyville Police Department said on Twitter that the agency was “conducting SWAT operations” outside Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, the Star-Telegram of Fort Worth reported.

During a live stream of the congregation’s Shabbat morning service, a man could be heard speaking, at times angrily, The Dallas Morning News reported. The livestream began at about 10 a.m. CST and was still playing nearly four hours later before it was finally shut off. The video did not show what was going on inside the building, the newspaper reported. Coffeyville Police dispatchers confirmed that the livestream had ended, according to WFAA-TV.

According to the livestream, the man has repeatedly mentioned his sister and Islam, sprinkling his speech with profanities, the Star-Telegram reported. At one point, another voice can be heard, communicating with police, according to the newspaper.

Colleyville is located about 17 miles northeast of downtown Fort Worth.

*Eta:
I’m out at the scene with @JessikaHarkay and @AMcCoyPhoto. Live stream has stopped as the man believed to have taken the synagogue hostage continued to demand a call with his sister | @startelegram

Texas SWAT team responds to hostage situation in synagogue, police say
https://twitter.com/ByJamesHartley/status/1482443958676598784

*eta:
A man claiming to be the brother of the convicted terrorist known as Lady Al Qaeda stormed a Texas synagogue on the Sabbath and is holding hostages, telling a SWAT team, 'If anyone tries to enter this building, I’m telling you… everyone will die.'

Before the livestream cut off, the unknown assailant can be heard saying, 'I'm going to die. Don't cry about me'

'Are you listening? I am going to die,' he repeated over and over.

The suspect claims his sister ''Lady Al Qaeda' Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in New York for trying to kill US military personnel and is serving an 86-year sentence, according to Aaron Katersky of ABC News.

Aafia Siddiqui, who was a biology major at MIT, said in 1993 that she wanted to do ‘something to help our Muslim brothers and sisters’ even if it meant breaking the law. She moved to Texas to be near her brother, who is an architect.

The man is claiming to have bombs in unknown locations, but what extent the assailant is armed, is unknown.

The man is demanding the release of his sister 'Lady Al Qaeda' Aafia Siddiqui (pictured), who is serving an 86-year sentence for trying to kill US military personnel

He reportedly also ranted about religion in between saying that he's 'going to die,' as well as made vague references to weapons and ammunition.

It is unknown if there are any injuries or fatalities at this moment.
Officials negotiating with man reportedly holding people hostage at a Texas synagogue | Daily Mail Online

US protesters demand release and repatriation of Aafia Siddiqui

 

[dotr]

FBI assisting in hostage situation at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas | CTV News
''Police are asking people to avoid the area.
"We are currently conducting SWAT operations around the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Rd," the Colleyville Police Department said. "All residents in the immediate area are being evacuated. Please avoid the area."

"We ask that you continue to avoid the area. We will continue to provide updates via social media," the police said.''

ETA
The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui
''A Pakistani neuroscientist and mother of three is to stand trial in New York for attempted murder. But shadowy questions about her life remain – including her links to al-Qaida and her five 'lost' years''

 

[whitelilac]

Awful.
Please let there be a resolution to this, without any hostage being harmed. I fear this fanatic has nothing to lose.

 

[Skigh]

Officials negotiating with man reportedly holding people hostage at a Texas synagogue | Daily Mail Online

• Texas man, who is believed to be Muhammad Siddiqui, is reportedly holding three hostages and the rabbi hostage in a synagogue
• A SWAT team has been deployed and the FBI are negotiating with him
• The suspect claims his sister is Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in New York for trying to kill US military personnel, according to an ABC News report
• Aafia is also known as 'Lady Al Qaeda' and is serving 86 years at FMC Carswell, which is 24 miles from the synagogue
• The assailant took the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville during religious services around 11:30am CST
• Before the live-stream cut off, the assailant can be heard saying, 'I'm going to die. Don't cry about me'
• The White House is reportedly 'closely monitoring' the situation

 

[whitelilac]

The hostage situation at a Texas synagogue continues to unfold, and an FBI crisis negotiator is still in contact with the subject inside, according to Colleyville Police Sgt. Dara Nelson.

Police say there are no injuries at this point, no significant updates and still no plans for a news conference soon.
Live updates: Hostage situation at synagogue in Colleyville, Texas

 

[whitelilac]

ETA
The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui
''A Pakistani neuroscientist and mother of three is to stand trial in New York for attempted murder. But shadowy questions about her life remain – including her links to al-Qaida and her five 'lost' years''

snipped bm
Whoa, what a history this woman has.

 

[sds71]

Muhammad Siddiqui: Accused Colleyville Hostage Taker | Heavy.com

eta


@DanWilliams

Worth exercising caution before naming Aafia Siddiqui’s brother (or anyone similarly named) as the Colleyville synagogue hostage-taker. If indeed the hostage-taker referred to her as his “sister”, that may have been an expression of ideological kinship rather than blood-

 

[whitelilac]

Rabbi Cytron-Walker appears to be quite young.
He is married with two daughters. His family must be terrified, as are those of the 3 other hostages.

 

[LietKynes]

Thinking about the families of the hostages.
Praying for those being held by this madman.
What is he thinking ?
They're not going to just let his sister walk free.

The sentence was considered to be just, considering that LE know more than we do and feel that she will continue to be a threat even if she's released at 60 or 70 years old ; hence the 85 year sentence.

How cowardly to invade and take hostages in a place of worship, where people come to pray and fellowship.
If he chooses to release the captives, he knows he is still going to prison for some time at least, and in this lies the danger !

I'm wondering if the Synagogue had any armed security ?
Some churches do have that in place now, and it's sad that it's come to this.

Of course even then, the person tasked with helping to keep people safe can't be everywhere at once.
Imo.

 

[whitelilac]

I believe the service was virtual, with the congregation not physically present in the synagogue, correct?

 

[whitelilac]

Live on cnn.
CNNgo – Watch CNN TV live

 

[whitelilac]

Live updates and video also on CBS
Live Updates: At least 4 people held hostage at Texas synagogue

It's the 5th hour now

 

[meanmaryjean]

As an American- I am thoroughly embarrassed by the rampant anti-Semitism that still exists here.

 

[sds71]

@ByJamesHartley
I’ve just spoken with Jawaid Alam, president of the Islamic Center of Southlake. He told Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker is a personal friend and a friend of the Muslim community and it is “unthinkable” that this could happen to him and his congregation

@JessikaHarkay

“It feels too close to home,” representatives from the Islamic Center of Southlake said, after this clip, they continued describing the Rabbi who is held hostage. “The rabbi is instrumental for bringing communities together, Jewish, Muslim, everyone.
We ... live together peacefully and respect each other.”
https://twitter.com/JessikaHarkay/status/1482505697447264262?s=20

 

[sds71]

@ByJamesHartley
·
Police said one hostage has been released unharmed. He is being reunited with his family ASAP and will not require medical attention. Hostage negotiations ongoing |
@StarTelegram

 

[Arkay]

This is sickening.

I'm hoping and praying all the hostages are released without further harm. This has been going in for hours.

Anti-semitism is on the rise everywhere, even here in NYC, where I have lived my entire life without once fearing going to a synagogue.

Lately, though, there have been swastikas, profane graffiti and other anti-Semitic incidents. Here, in NYC, where so many Jewish people have lived in peace.

I know the FBI is there with a SWAT team. I'm hoping the hostages can hold on, mentally and physically. The terrorist woman in jail cannot be released---she deserves jail and any negotiation on that point would just bring an increase in terrorist acts.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

• The synagogue’s rabbi is known for bringing people together.
• The synagogue is a tight knit community that came together in the 1990s.
• ‘This is Jewish life in 2022’: Hostage situation revives security concerns.

Heavily armed police officers and F.B.I. negotiators surrounded a synagogue Saturday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where a man who was inside had taken the rabbi and possibly two other hostages, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t clear why the hostages were taken at Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.

The congregation had been holding a scheduled Sabbath service at 10 a.m. It was being live streamed on its Facebook page when, the police said, they were called at about 10:41 a.m.

On the livestream, a man could be heard shouting about dying and not liking police officers, although the context was not clear because the stream was inaudible at times. A video of the livestream did not show what was going on inside the synagogue.

The man could also be heard asking to get his sister on the phone before the livestream stopped.

“It’s a deal,” he said at one point. “It’s a deal I had with you.”

The Colleyville police said that F.B.I. crisis negotiators were in communication with the man. One male hostage was released at about 5 p.m., the police said. He was unharmed.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said President Biden had been briefed on “the developing hostage situation” in Colleyville, a city of about 26,000 residents that is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth.
More at link:The standoff at the temple in Colleyville, Texas, has lasted for hours.