A hostage-taking in a synagogue on Saturday kept a city in the US state of Texas in suspense. After hours of negotiations with the hostage-taker, special forces broke into the synagogue on Saturday evening (local time) and freed the hostages, according to police in the city of Colleyville near Dallas. The hostage-taker died. Exactly how, the police left open. The authorities also kept a low profile on the background to the crime. US media reported, citing investigators, that the hostage-taker wanted to free a prisoner with suspected links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.
The man took four hostages during a service in the synagogue in the city of 26,000 on Saturday morning (local time) and holed up with them in the building for hours. Among them was the rabbi. The service was streamed live on the church's Facebook page. The local Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper reported that the voice of an angry man could be heard in the live stream, ranting and cursing and talking about religion, among other things. He said several times that he didn't want to hurt anyone and that he believed he was going to die. At some point the transmission stopped.
The police arrived with a large contingent of around 200 officers, including special units specializing in hostage-taking.
Experts from the Federal Police FBI kept in touch with the kidnapper throughout the day and negotiated with him.
A hostage released
The situation was unclear for a long time.
The first all-clear came early in the evening: a male hostage was released – unharmed.
A few hours later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that all the hostages were free and safe.
FBI official Matt DeSarno said all four hostages were safe and unharmed.
The hostage-taker has been identified.
In view of the ongoing investigation, the police could not provide any further information about him.
Extensive investigations into his motive and possible contacts are underway.
"Our investigations will have global reach," DeSarno said.
According to previous knowledge, the hostage-taker was focused on an issue that did not specifically affect the Jewish community.
Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller said it was not yet clear why the man targeted the local synagogue.
Connection with imprisoned scientist
Several US media, including the Washington Post and the broadcaster CNN, reported unanimously, citing investigators, that the man wanted to secure the release of a Pakistani scientist from a nearby prison in Texas: Aafia Siddiqui. In 2010, a federal judge sentenced her to 86 years in prison for an attack on US soldiers in Afghanistan. Siddiqui was arrested in Ghasni, Afghanistan, in July 2008. During interrogation at a police station, she took a gun lying on the ground and aimed it at a US soldier and a translator, without hitting them. Siddiqui was educated at one of the top universities in the USA, MIT in Cambridge. Her name was later added to a list of suspects by US authoritiesthat may be linked to Al Qaeda terrorists.
The police did not comment on the motive of the perpetrator.
The authorities also left open how the scene of the hostage rescue took place, how the hostage-taker was armed and whether he was killed by emergency services or possibly took his own life.
US President Joe Biden said in a written statement: "In the coming days we will learn more about the motives of the hostage-taker." He emphasized that anyone who wants to spread hate should know: "We will stand against anti-Semitism and against the increase in extremism in this country.”
During the hostage-taking, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also spoke up and wrote in a tweet that he was monitoring the situation in Colleyville closely and was praying for the safety of the hostages and the emergency services.
Authorities in other US cities, including New York and Los Angeles, said they had increased their presence at synagogues and other Jewish institutions as a precaution, given the situation in Colleyville.