Officials negotiating with man reportedly holding people hostage at a Texas synagogue
Terrorist with ‘backpacks of bombs’ releases one of four hostages at Texas synagogue as cops across US are sent to protect synagogues: Vowed ‘I am going to die’ on livestream and wants his ‘sister’ – ‘Lady Al Qaeda’ – freed from jail
A Texas man has released one hostage but is reportedly holding three others, including a rabbi, hostages inside a Texas synagogue A SWAT team has been deployed and the FBI are negotiating with him as the standoff enters hour tenThe suspect claims his ‘sister’ is Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in New York for trying to kill US military personnel, according to an ABC News report Aafia is also known as ‘Lady Al Qaeda’ and is serving 86 years at FMC Carswell for attempted murder of a US Army captain, with the prison located 24 miles from the synagogue The assailant took the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville during religious services around 11:30am CSTBefore the live-stream cut off, the assailant can be heard saying, ‘I’m going to die. Don’t cry about me’ The White House is reportedly ‘closely monitoring’ the situationPolice have evacuated nearby residents and Dallas and NYC police are patrolling area synagogues out of precaution as other major US cities follow suit
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A terrorist believed to be armed with backpacks of explosives has released one of four hostages he took at a Texas synagogue.
He let the man go at around 8pm after taking the hostages, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville during religious services around 11.30am.
He has demanded the release of a convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqu – known as Lady Al Qaeda – who, police say, he referred to as his sister.
However, a lawyer representing the woman’s brother denied he was involved after networks reported it was him.
Siddiqui was jailed for 86 years after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 for the attempted murder of a US army captain. The Pakistani-born neuroscientist was found with two kilos of poison sodium cyanide and plans for chemical attacks on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building.
The assailant told a SWAT team from the Texas synagogue: ‘If anyone tries to enter this building, I’m telling you…everyone will die.’
He was caught on the synagogue’s Sabbath livestream, before it was cut off at 2pm, saying: ‘I’m going to die. Don’t cry about me’
‘Are you listening? I am going to die,’ he repeated over and over.
The terrorist spoke with a New York City-rabbi earlier today who is now being interviewed by the FBI. He bizarrely demanded the female rabbi release Aafia.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have deployed additional patrol units at synagogues as have other major cities, like Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Police say there is no current threat to the general public.
One of the hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel in, Colleyville, Texas, was released and taken to his family
A SWAT team has set up by a nearby middle school as the hostage situation enters its ten hour
The SWAT team is on standby as the FBI continues to speak with the suspect and investigate his background
Authorities are in negotiations with the suspect believed to be Muhammad Siddiqui
There are four hostages inside the synagogue, including the temple’s rabbi. One hostage has been released
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker (right) is one of four being held hostage by a man claiming to be the brother of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui (left) known as Lady Al Qaeda
Police are blocking roads near the temple and nearby residents have been evacuated as night falls
Armored vehicles are at the scene where the assailant claims to have bombs as the FBI attempts to diffuse the situation
Law enforcement have also gathered at the Colleyville Elementary School to help evacuate local residents
Local and federal authorities are working together to try and free all four hostages safely
The standoff is taking place at the Congregation Beth Israel, in Colleyville, just 27 miles from Dallas
Colleyville, Texas, police are conducting SWAT operations and locals are being told to evacuate the area.
State police are also assisting the scene as authorities set up by a nearby middle school, according to WFAA. The school is around the corner from the synagogue.
The FBI is negotiating with the man and the FBI can be seen on site.
The White House is also ‘closely monitoring’ the situation, according to ABC’s Erielle Reshef.
Aafia’s attorney, Marwa Elbially, told CNN by phone that her client has no involvement in the hostage situation.
‘She does not want any violence perpetrated against any human being, especially in her name,’ Elbially said.
‘It obviously has nothing to do with Dr. Siddiqui or her family.’
Jonh Floyd, of the Houston branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also confirmed Aafia’s family was not involved in the current hostage situation, and that they condemn the suspect’s actions.
‘We want the hostage-taker to know that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her family strongly condemn this act and do not stand by you,’ Floyd wrote in a statement directed at the hostage taker.
Lawyer Annette Lamoreaux who represents Siddiqui’s biological brother Mohammad, a Houston architect, told Mail Online: ‘The gunman is most definitely not her biological brother. I spoke to Mohammad an hour ago and he is very upset to be implicated in this attack by the hostage-taker.’
‘We want the assailant to know that his actions are wicked and directly undermine those of us who are seeking justice for Dr. Aafia.’
Aafia, now 49, was jailed for 86 years after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 for the attempted murder of a US army captain.
The Pakistani-born neuroscientist was found with two kilos of poison sodium cyanide and plans for chemical attacks on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building.
She was handed to the Americans and convicted of attempted murder two years later in a US court.
But her hatred for the US was so strong that during her interrogation she grabbed a rifle from one of her guards and shot at them shouting: ‘Death to Americans.’
She came to the US in 1991 and won a partial scholarship to MIT, where she was a biology major.
In 1993, she wanted to do ‘something to help our Muslim brothers and sisters’ even if it meant breaking the law.
That same year, as she and some friends debated how to raise money for Muslims being killed during the Bosnian War, one of them joked that they didn’t want to go on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
She moved to Texas to be near her brother, the reported hostage taker, who is listed as an architect in Houston.
The mother of three was radicalized after the 9/11 terror attacks, divorcing her husband and moving back to Pakistan, where she remarried Ammar Al-Baluchi, the nephew of 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
What happened in Pakistan before her arrest is unclear and even during her U.S. trial judge Richard Berman said he did not know what she was doing.
But even now such is her importance as a symbol of defiance to the West that Islamic State fighters publicly stated they wanted to swap her for James Foley, the American photojournalist they executed earlier this year.
Siddiqui declined to be interviewed when approached by the Boston Globe at the Federal Prison in Fort Worth, Texas, where she is being held.
She is serving an 86-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, about 25 miles from the hostage site at the Texas temple.
During her trial, Aafia demanded that every jury member get DNA tested to see if they were Jewish.
‘I have a feeling everyone here is them [Jews], subject [them] to genetic testing… They should be excluded if you want to be fair,’ she told a federal judge in 2010.
A Colleyville spokesperson told CNN: ‘The FBI negotiators are the ones who have contact with the person in the building.’
Leaders from the Islamic Center of Southlake, who have worked closely with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker to help unite the faithful in the Dallas-Fort Worth area came out to the scene to denounce the attack and pray for their friend.
‘We want to see him again as soon as possible,’ said Shahzad Mahmud, the former president of the Islamic Center.
‘We just want to make sure he goes back to his family,’
The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is also ‘closely monitoring’ the situation.
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 hostage and rescuers.’
US Press Secretary Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter that President Joe Biden has also been briefed on the situation.
‘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,’ Psaki wrote.
There are currently no reported injuries or fatalities.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said that he is providing the state’s full assistance to Colleyville to help ensure all the hostages are released safely.
Social media users have been offering prayers for Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, but his condition and location are unknown.
Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, which has about 70,000 Jewish people, one of the largest communities in the state.
The Muslim man can be heard saying the live stream (pictured) that he was ‘going to die’ repeatedly. It is unclear who he was saying this too
Members of the Islamic Center of Southlake came out to show support for their friend, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who they have worked with for years to help unite the faithful in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
Local police are assisting in evacuations of local residents
Emergency vehicles are stationed throughout the area. There have yet to be any reported injuries
The Israeli Prime Minister is also monitoring the situation.
President Biden has been briefed on the situation and will received updates as they come in
Armored vehicles have been seen in the area
Emergency response vehicles are currently on site as well, as the four hostages are still inside
The standoff has gone on for six hours and SWAT teams are on site as the FBI negotiates with the suspect
The four hostages are being held inside the synagogue (pictured in 2020)
