TX Synagogue Hostages Freed; Suspect Is Dead, Investigators Say

Updated at 7:25 a.m. CST

COLLEYVILLE, TX — All hostages have been freed unharmed after a hostage rescue team intervened in the standoff at the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, and the suspect who held them for more than 12 hours is dead, authorities said at a news conference late Saturday night.

The hostage taker has now been identified, and the FBI and police declined to answer questions about who shot the man.

Video from Dallas TV station WFAA shows people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later, before he turns around and closes the door. Moments later, several rounds of gunfire can be heard, followed by the sound of an explosion, The Associated Press reported.

FBI and police spokeswomen declined to answer questions about who shot the man.

The first hostage was released around 5 p.m., hours after the suspect interrupted Sabbath morning services at the synagogue around 10:40 a.m. The suspected hostage-taker had been heard during a livestream worship service demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.

The first released hostage, a man, was unhurt and will not require medical attention, Colleyville police said. Investigators did not what information the man may have that may have helped the FBI hostage negotiation team determine the suspect's mental state or other information about the situation inside the synagogue, according to news reports.

There have been no injuries inside the synagogue, Colleyville police tweeted late Saturday afternoon. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who has led the synagogue since 2006, is believed to be among the three people still being held in the synagogue.

The Associated Press reported worshipers who heard the livestream said the hostage-taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. military officers while in custody in Afghanistan, one of the law enforcement officials said.

Siddiqui, known as "Lady al-Qaida," is serving an 86-year sentence at a federal prison in Fort Worth, which is about 15 miles from Colleyville. She is described as a cult figure among extremists, who have demanded her release from prison for years. Pakistan officials have publicly said they're interested in a deal or prisoner swap, the AP reported.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported her supporters demonstrated in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Worth in 2016, demanding proof that she was still alive and that she be returned to Pakistan. Federal prosecutors said that in 2018, an Ohio man planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui is being held, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.


In this July 17, 2008, file photo, Aafia Siddiqui, possible al-Qaida associate, is seen in the custody of Counter Terrorism Department of Ghazni province in Ghazni City, Afghanistan. The man who authorities say was holding hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned on charges of trying to kill American service members in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/ File)

The synagogue, like many others across the country, moved its Sabbath morning services to Facebook Live because of the coronavirus pandemic. The video showing the man described as "ranting" and making anti-American and antisemitic statements was removed by Facebook.

“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,' " Texas resident Victoria Francis, who watched about an hour of it before it cut out, told the AP. "If you make a mistake, this is all on you.’ And he’d laugh at that. He was clearly in extreme distress.”

The hostage-taker has not been positively identified, according to officials who spoke to the AP. They cautioned the information was based on a preliminary in the rapidly developing situation.

A rabbi in New York City received a call from Cytron-Walker and called 911 to relay the hostage-taker's demands that Siddiqui be freed, news station WNBC reported. Colleyville police confirmed late Saturday morning on Twitter that it was conducting SWAT operations near the synagogue at 6 100 Pleasant Road Run and asked people to stay away from the area. The FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety have joined the operation.

"The FBI negotiators are the ones who have contact with the person in the building," Colleyville Police Sgt. Dara Nelson told CNN, adding the situation posed "no threat to the general public" at the current time.

Police were called to the synagogue around 11 a.m., and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokeswoman Katie Chaumont told The AP Police are continuing to ask people to stay away from the area.

Congregation Beth Israel, which is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism, serves about 157 families. It was the first Jewish congregation in northeast Tarrant County, where Colleyville is located.

Across the country, police increased patrols around Jewish houses of worship. In Dallas, about 30 miles from Colleyville, Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted police were working with the Jewish Federation to monitor any threats and concerns, WFAA reported.Authorities said there had been no direct threats to other synagogues. Dallas

In San Antonio, Texas, police said they will "monitor for any possible local threats." Beverly Hills, California, police said out of an abundance of caution, they "will be increasing patrols around our Jewish houses of worship."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said extra police have been deployed to synagogues as a precaution. "The NYPD Intelligence Bureau and the Joint Terrorism Task Force are in close contact with local police and FBI officials in Texas," he said in a statement. "I have been fully briefed by Police Commissioner Sewell and I’m confident we are taking the right steps."

Cytron-Walker, the synagogue's first full-time rabbi, is known for improving interfaith relations in Colleyville, which has a large Muslim population.

“He has brought Christian groups, and various Muslims groups together,” Texas Congressman Giovanni Capriglione, whose district includes Colleyville, told The New York Times. “He is not someone who is railing against one faith or another. He’s the exact opposite.”

CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, condemned the attack.

“This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement Saturday. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages. No cause can justify or excuse this crime.”

Anna Salton Eisen, a founder and former president of the synagogue, described the situation as "surreal."

“This is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. You know, it’s a small town and it’s a small congregation,” Eisen told the AP. "No matter how it turns out it’s hard to fathom how we will all be changed by this, because surely we will be.”

Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the country have taken extra security precautions — including installing metal detectors and security cameras, or hiring armed guards — in response to a wave of antisemitic attacks and threats of violence. In 2018, 11 people died in a massacre at a synagogue near Pittsburgh. In 2019, a woman was killed in a shooting at a Poway, California, synagogue.

Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said members "are horrified that our community is once again under attack."

The Anti-Defamation League tweeted Saturday afternoon that it “is aware of the ongoing situation in Colleyville, TX and is engaged with local and federal authorities and the community’s leaders.”

In San Antonio, Texas, police said they will "monitor for any possible local threats." Beverly Hills, California, police said out of an abundance of caution, they "will be increasing patrols around our Jewish houses of worship."

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was monitoring the situation as well.
"We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers," Bennett tweeted on Saturday.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the ongoing situation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday.

"He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops," Psaki tweeted. "Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership."

Authorities said earlier Saturday that the livestream of the service containing audio but no video captured a man talking angrily, at times demanding to talk to his sister on the phone. At other times, he seemed apologetic, according to reports. The "sister" has since been identified as Siddiqui

Shortly before 2 p.m., the man said, “You got to do something. I don’t want to see this guy dead.” Moments later, the feed cut out. The man repeatedly mentioned Islam and used profanities, and he repeatedly said he thought he was going to die, the Star-Telegram reported.

Chaumont, the Dallas FBI field office spokeswoman, told the AP she could not say whether the person was armed, and she declined to describe what the person had said to authorities, citing operational sensitivity.

“It’s an evolving situation, and we have a lot of law enforcement personnel on scene,” Chaumont said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on the Dallas Patch