Negotiations have been going on for several hours. A police operation is underway on Saturday, January 15, for a hostage-taking in a synagogue in Texas, United States. ABC News, citing a source on site, reported that the suspect was armed, holding four people hostage, including a rabbi, and claimed to have planted bombs at unknown locations.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed about the hostage taking, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “He will continue to receive updated information from his team”, she tweeted.
Police in Colleyville, near Dallas, said late morning that an intervention force operation was underway at an address corresponding to the synagogue of Congregation Beth Israel. The voice of an agitated man at times could be heard on the live broadcast of the religious service on Facebook. “There is something wrong with America”, said the man, as well as ” I will die “. He also repeatedly asked an unidentified caller for his sister to be on the phone.
“Achieving a sure outcome”
The suspect, according to ABC News, claims to be the brother of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 by a New York federal court to 86 years in prison for attempting to shoot US service members while in custody. Afghanistan. He is calling for his release, the channel reported, citing an official familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity. According to the same source, she is incarcerated at the Carswell military base, also not far from Dallas.
“The negotiators have contacted this person and are working to obtain a secure outcome”Colleyville Police Sergeant Dara Nelson told the newspaper of the alleged hostage taker. The Dallas Morning News. Colleyville police said they are evacuating nearby residents and asking the public to avoid the area.
We are currently conducting SWAT operations around the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Rd. All residents in the immediate… https://t.co/q8tZKZfJQO
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson let him know he had “deployed additional patrols to synagogues and other sites” In the region. Texas Governor Greg Abbott described a situation “tense”, while Ted Crus, a Republican senator from that state, said “monitor the situation closely” and pray for hostages and response forces.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israeli Consul in Houston Livia Link was on the way. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters held hostage in a synagogue in Texas”, he tweeted in Hebrew.