- US President Joe Biden has condemned the hostage-taking in a synagogue in the US state of Texas as an act of terrorism.
- The Democrat praised the police’s action, in which all hostages were released unharmed.
- A man took several hostages in a synagogue in the city of Colleyville near Dallas on Saturday.
“It was an act of terrorism,” Biden said Sunday on the sidelines of an appointment in Philadelphia. The police “simply did a great job,” said the US President.
After hours of negotiations with the kidnapper, special forces entered the building in the evening (local time) and freed the hostages. These remained unharmed. The hostage-taker died. The police initially left it open how exactly. The authorities were also officially covered about the background.
US media reported, citing investigators, that the kidnappers wanted to free a Pakistani scientist imprisoned in Texas, who was convicted in 2010 of attempting to murder US soldiers in Afghanistan.
The police announced the identity of the hostage-taker on Sunday: it was a 44-year-old British citizen. There is currently no evidence that other people were involved, it said.