Texas rabbi: Security training paid off in hostage standoff

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COLLEYVILLE, Texas – U.S. and British authorities Monday continued an probe into the play standoff astatine a Texas synagogue that ended with an equipped British nationalist dormant and a rabbi crediting past information grooming for getting him and 3 members of his congregation retired safely.

Authorities identified the hostage-taker arsenic a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed Saturday nighttime aft the past hostages ran retired of Congregation Beth Israel astir 9 p.m. The FBI said determination was nary aboriginal denotation that anyone other was involved, but it had not provided a imaginable motive.

The probe stretched to England, wherever precocious Sunday constabulary successful Manchester announced that 2 teenagers were successful custody successful transportation with the standoff. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not accidental whether the brace faced immoderate charges.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker said information grooming astatine his suburban Fort Worth congregation implicit the years is what allowed him and the different 3 hostages to marque it done the 10-hour ordeal, which helium described arsenic traumatic.

“In the past hr of our hostage crisis, the gunman became progressively belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker said successful a statement. “Without the acquisition we received, we would not person been prepared to enactment and fly erstwhile the concern presented itself.”

Video of the standoff's extremity from Dallas TV presumption WFAA showed radical moving retired a doorway of the synagogue, and past a antheral holding a weapon opening the aforesaid doorway conscionable seconds aboriginal earlier helium turned astir and closed it. Moments later, respective shots and past an detonation could beryllium heard.

Authorities person declined to accidental who changeable Akram, saying it was inactive nether investigation.

Akram could beryllium heard ranting connected a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the merchandise of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who was convicted of trying to termination U.S. Army officers successful Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden called the occurrence an enactment of terror. Speaking to reporters successful Philadelphia connected Sunday, Biden said Akram allegedly purchased a limb connected the streets.

Federal investigators judge Akram purchased the handgun utilized successful the hostage taking successful a backstage sale, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that the probe is ongoing. Akram arrived successful the U.S. astatine John F. Kennedy International Airport successful New York astir 2 weeks ago, a instrumentality enforcement authoritative said.

Akram arrived successful the U.S. precocious connected a tourer visa from Great Britain, according to a U.S. authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that the accusation was not intended to beryllium public. London’s Metropolitan Police said successful a connection that its counter-terrorism constabulary were liaising with U.S. authorities astir the incident.

FBI Special Agent successful Charge Matt DeSarno had said Saturday nighttime that the hostage-taker was specifically focused connected an contented not straight connected to the Jewish community. It wasn’t wide wherefore Akram chose the synagogue, though the situation wherever Siddiqui is serving her condemnation is successful adjacent Fort Worth.

On Sunday night, the FBI issued a connection calling the ordeal “a terrorism-related matter, successful which the Jewish assemblage was targeted.” The bureau said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating.

Michael Finfer, the president of the congregation, said successful a connection “there was a 1 successful a cardinal accidental that the gunman picked our congregation.”

Akram utilized his telephone during the people of negotiations to pass with radical different than instrumentality enforcement, according to a instrumentality enforcement authoritative who was not authorized to sermon an ongoing probe by sanction and spoke connected information of anonymity.

Multiple radical heard the hostage-taker notation to Siddiqui arsenic his “sister” connected the livestream. But John Floyd, committee seat for the Houston section of the Council connected American-Islamic Relations — the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy radical — said Siddiqui’s brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved.

Texas nonmigratory Victoria Francis, who said she watched astir an hr of the livestream, said she heard the antheral rant against America and assertion helium had a bomb. Biden said determination were seemingly nary explosives, contempt the threats.

“He was conscionable each implicit the map. He was beauteous irritated and the much irritated helium got, he’d marque much threats, similar ‘I’m the feline with the bomb. If you marque a mistake, this is each connected you.’ And he’d laughter astatine that,” Francis said. “He was intelligibly successful utmost distress.”

Colleyville, a assemblage of astir 26,000 people, is astir 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth. Reached extracurricular his location Sunday, Cytron-Walker declined to talk astatine magnitude astir the episode. “It’s a small overwhelming arsenic you tin imagine. It was not amusive yesterday,” helium told the AP.

Andrew Marc Paley, a Dallas rabbi who was called to the country to assistance families and hostages upon their release, said Cytron-Walker acted arsenic a calm and comforting presence. The archetypal hostage was released soon aft 5 p.m. That was astir the clip nutrient was delivered to those wrong the synagogue, but Paley said helium did not cognize if it was portion of the negotiations.

Cytron-Walker said his congregation had received grooming from section authorities and the Secure Community Network, which was founded successful 2004 by a conjugation of Jewish organizations and describes itself arsenic “the authoritative information and information organization” of the Jewish assemblage successful North America. Michael Masters, the CEO of the organization, said the congregation had provided information grooming successful August and had not been antecedently alert of Akram.

The standoff led authorities to tighten information successful different places, including New York City, wherever constabulary said that they accrued their beingness “at cardinal Jewish institutions” retired of an abundance of caution.

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Tucker reported from Washington, D.C. Also contributing to this study were Associated Press writers Paul J. Weber and Acacia Coronado successful Austin; Michael Balsamo successful Washington; Colleen Long successful Philadelphia; Elliot Spagat successful San Diego; Jennifer McDermott successful Providence, Rhode Island; Michael R. Sisak successful New York; Holly Meyer successful Nashville, Tenn.; and Issac Scharf successful Jerusalem.

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