The FBI has identified the the man who took hostages at a Texas synagogue on Jan. 15 and was shot dead after an hours-long standoff as British national Malik Faisal Akram.
Akram was shot and killed when an FBI SWAT team stormed the building of the Congregation Beth Israel near Fort Worth, Texas, at around 9 p.m., following a 10-hour standoff in which four people were taken hostage.
Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller confirmed at a press conference late Saturday that the suspect had been killed.
All the hostages were rescued unharmed, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Saturday.
“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Abbott said in a post on Twitter.
While it’s not clear why Akram targeted the synagogue, he was heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. Convicted in 2010 by a New York City federal court, Siddiqui is serving an 86-year sentence at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, about 15 miles away from Colleyville, the location of the synagogue.
Texas resident Victoria Francis told the Associated Press that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out, adding that 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.”
FBI special agent in charge Matthew DeSarno said on Sunday that there was no indication other individuals besides Akram were involved.
By Tom Ozimek
