Jewish hostage tense situation in NorthTexas synagogue ends with all hostages safe and the suspect dead, authorities say.
The Jewish hostage situation began around 11 a.m. Saturday and lasted nearly 12 hours at Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville. After nearly a nearly 12-hour hostage negotiation, sources confirm all four hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas are alive and safe.
Law enforcement agencies responded to the situation shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday. Around 9:33 p.m., Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Colleyville police tweeted that all hostages were “out alive and safe.”
During a news conference late Saturday, Colleyville police and the FBI confirmed the suspect was dead.
SWAT officers with the Colleyville Police Department, as well as officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI, initially responded at 10:40 a.m. to the scene in the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road near Tinker Road and State Highway 121.
Police soon evacuated residents near the immediate area of the scene within the Dallas suburb, located 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth.
FBI officers quickly took over the lead of the investigation and its operations.
Police said FBI crisis negotiators were in regular communication with the hostage-taker throughout the day into evening, and around 5 p.m., one male hostage was released. According to police, that man, who hasn’t yet been identified, was reunited with his family.
As the deadlock lugged on into the nighttime hours, Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller said that the FBI called in a special rescue team to help bring the situation to a close.
“The FBI called out the hostage rescue team, which is an elite hostage rescue force out of Quantico, Virginia,” Miller said. “They immediately got on a plane and flew down here. I think they brought 60 or 70 people from Washington, D.C. to come and help with the situation.”
The hostage rescue team then “breached the synagogue” and rescued the three remaining hostages, Miller added. Among them was believed to be the synagogue’s rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker.
Rabbi believed to be 1 of 4 hostages at North Texas synagogue described as a man who promotes interfaith peace
Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of FBI Dallas, praised officers and FBI agents for their negotiation tactics that brought the end of the standoff.
“I’m extremely proud of the team of negotiators, the FBI agents, and local police officers, who worked all day long engaging the subject and likely saved the lives of the subjects just through their engagement,” DeSarno said. “It’s very likely this situation would have ended very badly early on in the day had we not had professional, consistent negotiation with the subject.”
Citing sources familiar with the ongoing situation, both ABC News and the Associated Press reported that the individual holding the hostages was armed. But during the Saturday evening news conference, DeSarno did not go into detail about if the hostage-taker was armed.
The hostage-taker has still not been publicly identified, although multiple sources said that the suspect inside was insisting to speak to Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, according to the AP. Law enforcement, however, did not confirm a motive during their news conference and said that it appeared the incident was not targeted toward the Jewish community. A connection between Siddiqui and the hostage-taker was not clear.
A U.S. official briefed on the matter told ABC News the hostage-taker had claimed to be the brother of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year U.S. prison sentence for her 2010 conviction for shooting at soldiers and FBI agents, and that he is demanding she be freed.
Siddiqui is being held at a federal prison in the Fort Worth area. A lawyer representing Siddiqui, Marwa Elbially, told CNN in a statement the man was not Siddiqui’s brother. He implored the man to release the hostages, saying Siddiqui’s family condemned his “heinous” actions.
Earlier on Saturday, a Facebook Live stream from Congregation Beth Israel had as many as 8,000 viewers before it was cut shortly before 2 p.m. The fixed-camera shot showed the pulpit of the synagogue; the faint voice of a man, presumed to be the hostage-taker, could be heard in the background, but the footage did not show any other activity within the building.
Colleyville police said they were aware of the Livestream.
A White House official confirmed that the White House had been “closely monitoring” the hostage situation. President Joe Biden was briefed on the crisis, and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Twitter he was praying for the safety of the hostages.
Shortly after the hostages were freed, Biden issued a statement thanked the “courageous” work of state, local, and federal law enforcement, saying it was because of their efforts that “four Americans who were held hostage at a Texas synagogue will soon be home with their families.”
“I am grateful to the tireless work of law enforcement at all levels who acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages,” Biden said. “We are sending love and strength to the members of Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, and the Jewish community.”
Local, state, and international leaders react to ongoing hostage situation at North Texas synagogue
On Saturday evening, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted that the Dallas Police Department deployed additional patrols to Dallas synagogues and other sites as a precaution.
In the Jewish faith, Saturdays represent Shabbat, the day of the Sabbath. Congregation Beth Israel hosts Shabbat services every Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
According to its website, the Reform Jewish congregation was officially established in 1999. The synagogue has been led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker since 2006.
Barry Klompus, a member of the congregation since it opened in 1999, said he tuned into the Livestream.
“It was horrible listening and watching,” Klompus said in a telephone interview.
Before the Livestream was ended, the man could be heard rambling about religion and his sister, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The man could be heard repeatedly saying he didn’t want to see anyone hurt and that he believed he was going to die, the newspaper said.
CAIR National, The Council on American–Islamic Relations said, “We strongly condemn the hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil…”
@EdAhmedMitchell
“We strongly condemn the hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil…" @EdAhmedMitchell pic.twitter.com/qPcKMV44kh
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) January 16, 2022