COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hostages who had been held for hours inside a Texas synagogue were rescued Saturday night, according to Gov. Greg Abbott, nearly 12 hours after the standoff began.
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“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Abbott tweeted.
Prayers answered.
All hostages are out alive and safe.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 16, 2022
Abbott’s tweet came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue, where authorities said a man had held people captive as he demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. Details of the rescue were not immediately released, but local Texas media reports that the hostage-taker was killed during the rescue.
At least four hostages were initially believed to be inside the synagogue, according to three law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The synagogue’s rabbi was believed to be among the hostages, one of the officials said. One of the officials said the man claimed to be armed but authorities had not confirmed whether he was.
The Colleyville Police Department said one hostage was released uninjured shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. The man was expected to be reunited with his family and did not require medical attention. A law enforcement official said the first hostage who was released was not the rabbi.
Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.
The officials said investigators have not positively identified the man and cautioned that the information was based on a preliminary investigation.
A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Siddiqui’s release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911 .
Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokesperson Katie Chaumont said.
The services were being livestreamed on the synagogue’s Facebook page for a time. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which didn’t show what was happening inside the synagogue.
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. A Meta company spokesperson later confirmed that Facebook removed the video.
Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Siddiqui as his “sister” on the livestream, but Faizan Syed, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations in Dallas Fort-Worth Texas, told The Associated Press that Siddiqui’s brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved. Syed said CAIR’s support and prayers were with the people being held in the synagogue.
[FAKE NEWS: Hostage-Taker Is Not Brother Of Terrorist He’s Trying To Free]
Texas resident Victoria Francis told the AP that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out. She said 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.”
Francis, who grew up near Colleyville, tuned in after she read about the hostage situation. She said it sounded like the man was talking to the police department on the phone, with the rabbi and another person trying to help with the negotiations.
Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth. The synagogue is nestled among large houses in a leafy residential neighborhood that includes several churches, a middle and elementary school and a horse farm.
Congregation Beth Israel is led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who has been there since 2006 as the synagogue’s first full-time rabbi. He has worked to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion and learning to the community, according to his biography, and he loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people, into the congregation.
Anna Salton Eisen, a founder and former president of the synagogue, said the congregation has about 140 members and Cytron-Walker has worked hard to build interfaith relationships in the community, including doing pulpit swaps and participating in a community peace walk. She described Saturday’s events as “surreal.”
“This is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. You know, it’s a small town and it’s a small congregation,” Eisen said as the hostage situation was ongoing. “No matter how it turns out it’s hard to fathom how we will all be changed by this, because surely we will be.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had been briefed and was receiving updates from senior officials.
.@POTUS has been briefed about the developing hostage situation in the Dallas area. He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops. Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) January 15, 2022
[Psaki Blasted after Omitting Key Details about Jewish Hostages and Jihadist Suspect]
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was monitoring the situation closely. “We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” he wrote on Twitter.
I am closely monitoring the hostage situation taking place in Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.
We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers.
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) January 15, 2022
CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, condemned the attack Saturday afternoon.
“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. “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.”
Siddiqui earned advanced degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she was sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on charges that she assaulted and shot at U.S. Army officers after being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. The punishment sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who viewed her as victimized by the American criminal justice system.
In the years since, Pakistan officials have expressed interest publicly in any sort of deal or swap that could result in her release from U.S. custody, and her case has continued to draw attention from supporters. In 2018, for instance, an Ohio man who prosecutors say planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui is being held in an attempt to free her was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Does it really make a difference what affiliation the synagogue has? There are Jewish lives at stake. Very little thought on the part of VIN…. And this took place on Parashas Beshalach – where the Amalekim attached without provocation. The Jews in the synagogue had nothing to do with the imprisonment of the gunman’s sister a decade ago. Pure Sinas Chinom. We all must learn to control our words in speaking and in print.
Thank gd this terrorist is dead and the hostages are safe that Reform Judaism is or isn’t acceptable is an issue for another time
Why wasn’t this rabid animal shot dead by a pistol packing congregant ? It’s Texas dammit. I guess liberalisn precludes carrying guns to shul. This guy came in my shul he’s be gunned down in seconds. Literally seconds. And where was the guard ? Locked doors? Pittsburgh teachedcusz nothjng
Anew is a Jew. One thing we should have learnt hitler didn’t discriminate he killed every Jew religious or not.
But until we learn to arm ourselves and take protection into our own hands this type of craziness will continue
Chasdai Hashem! Hodu la Shem ki Tov!!!!!!!!!!!!
Burn in gehinnom you moo skim piece of dreck!
Baruch H’
Reform Jews may be Jewish but reform Judaism is not Judaism at all.
These Pakistanis in Brooklyn like this 1 are very dangerous bin laden was openly “hiding” in Pakistan
“Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker… loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people, into the congregation.”
LGBT? Not “LGBTQ”? Seriously, no “Q”?
This Reform Rabbi must be a closet conservative.
Just a though that would like to share, we as othrodox Jews know better that every yid no matter their religious status or affilition is still a Yid and we care deeply about, but not the same can be said on how the consrevative or reform movemnet feels about us, if we go back a liitle in past events in 2018 there was a shooting in pittsburgh in a reform synagouge at the time there were condolences put out from evey major Jewish orthodox organization in America, this past year we all witnessed a teribble tragedy in Meron were 45 othrodox Jews lost their lives at the time there were official statment and condolences coming from eveywere possilbe including the US president and leaders of the free world but 2 groups of people didn’t think it important to release a message of condolences becouase we are not one of thiers, you guessed it the “REFORM AND CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT”
To all considering bearing arms at shul: please heed the advice I received from an FBI agent (and ex-marine): hire professionals. If you absolutely insist on arming congregants, do not allow anyone carry in your shul unless they are well-trained and *commit* to visiting the range at least once monthly. You don’t want ‘friendly fire’ victims.
Here’s something else I was taught:
You will not rise to the occasion – you will sink to the level of your training.
That’s exactly why the Rabbi succeeded here – he was well-trained.
On the front page of VIN at the moment there is a lot of outrage that the White House press secretary did not specifically say the attacker was a Muslim. Maybe I read by it, but this story does not seem to specifically say the attacker was a Muslim. Should I be outraged?
In any case, this rescue and the safety of the hostages and the police is a cause for joy, not argument.
Some shul – Live Stream Shabbat service – Eugene Posnock, a member of the synagogue, said that she and other members had been following the service on Zoom when the man entered the sanctuary, disrupting prayers.
She said all she heard was yelling in the background before the connection was lost.
Why is there in the picture a tzeilim of the nearby chrch??
A reform temple is not a shul.
Mr. Charlie, or Pastor Charlie. Not Rabbi. It’s a reform temple.
These Reform do not get it – bringing these antisemitin into a shul.
rabbi Walker was a man who hosted hosted the imam and members of a nearby mosque at his synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. He was the architect of much interfaith dialogue in the community of 26,000 a few miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Members of his Congregation Beth Israel celebrated iftar dinners during Ramadan with Muslim neighbors.
Maybe Hashem is sending a message that Reform should reform their ways.