published
On Saturday afternoon (local time) there was a kidnapping during a church service in the Dallas area. The police are in contact with a man. He probably wants to free his sister, who has been convicted of attempted murder.
The emergency services are in contact with the hostage-taker.
REUTERS
The Beth Israel Synagogue is located in Colleyville, a suburb of the city of Fort Worth in the US state of Texas
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A hostage-taking took place in the US state of Texas on Saturday afternoon (local time).
A synagogue in the greater Dallas-Fort-Worth area is affected.
The police are in contact with the kidnapper. He has expressed extremist ideas, and his brother is serving a year in prison for killing an FBI agent.
A man apparently took several people hostage in a synagogue in the US state of Texas on Saturday. The police in Colleyville announced on Twitter that special forces were deployed. She called for avoiding the area around the synagogue in the small town about 40 kilometers west of Dallas.
The service was temporarily broadcast live on the synagogue’s Facebook page. The “Fort Worth Star-Telegram” reported that negotiations between the alleged hostage-taker and the police could be heard. An angry man scolded and talked about religion. The live stream did not show what was happening in the synagogue. Just before 2 p.m. the man said: «You have to do something. I don’t want to see this man dead.” A few moments later the transmission stopped.
Hostage-taker claims to be brother of convicted terrorist
According to the report, the man repeatedly mentioned his sister and Islam and used swear words. He repeated several times that he thought he was going to die. It was not clear if the man was armed. The number of people staying in the building was also not known. Around 26,000 people live in Colleyville northeast of Fort Worth. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid also spoke on Twitter about the hostage-taking.
According to ABC News, the kidnapper has revealed his identity to police. He is said to be of Pakistani descent and the brother of a convicted terrorist. Aafia Siddiqui, who worked as a neuroscientist, was sentenced to 86 years in prison in 2010 for the attempted murder of an FBI agent. As a government insider told US television, the brother is said to have demanded his sister’s release.
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(DPA/pme)