On Sunday, the FBI identified the suspect behind the Texas synagogue hostage crisis as a British national, who was shot after an hours-long standoff.
The hostage-taker was identified as now-deceased Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno with the FBI Dallas Field Office confirmed in an email to Fox News.
Media has published first photos of the #ColleyvilleSynagogue hostage taker, Malik Faisal Akram. Akram, a devout Muslim from Blackburn, England, had recently entered the US. His brother released a statement claiming his brother released the hostages unharmed before being killed. pic.twitter.com/tXFnBMgSql
— Andy Ngô ???? (@MrAndyNgo) January 16, 2022
The suspect, who interrupted a morning service and took Jewish people hostage at the synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, was shot and killed at around 9:15 pm local time on Saturday, after all hostages at at the Congregation Beth Israel were released unharmed following the hours-long standoff with authorities.
The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year prison term in the United States. Siddiqui was convicted of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan.
"The FBI's Evidence Response Team (ERT) will continue processing evidence at the synagogue. At this time, there is no indication that other individuals are involved," FBI Dallas said in an emailed statement.
"The FBI's North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force (NTJTTF), which includes member agencies from across the region, will continue to follow investigative leads," the statement continued. "An FBI Shooting Incident Review Team (SIRT) will conduct a thorough, factual, and objective investigation of the events."
Meeting with press in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden said that the deceased suspect had previously been arrested 15 years ago and was jailed for 10 years. He noted that he may have stayed in a homeless shelter after landing in the US.
Biden said that Akram obtained the weapon used on Saturday "on the street," possibly within the homeless community, but he was still getting more information, according to Fox News.
"This was an act of terror," Biden said, praising the FBI. Biden vowed that he would speak with the synagogue's rabbi on how his administration can support houses of worship with "the antisemitism that's ramping up."
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