- According to media reports, a hostage drama in a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas is apparently over. The hostages are all unharmed and free.
- According to the AP news agency, the hostage-taker was killed when the hostages were freed. Media reports of a bang and shots in the synagogue.
- The hostage-taker wanted to secure the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist.
- The US federal police FBI was involved in the operation and negotiated ten hours with the hostage-taker.
At the beginning of the hostage-taking on Saturday, the Colleyville police initially only announced that special forces were on duty at the address of a synagogue. Houses in the immediate vicinity have been evacuated and citizens should avoid the area. The hostages were taken during the service and the rabbi was one of the hostages. During a live stream on Facebook from the synagogue, an angry man’s voice was heard before the transmission stopped, the local newspaper Worth Star Telegram reported.
According to unconfirmed information, he called for the release of a Pakistani woman who is serving a prison sentence in the United States for murder. The woman is his sister. However, authorities could not confirm his identity.
“An Act of Pure Evil”
A group of Muslim lawyers, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), condemned the action, saying: “This recent anti-Semitic attack against Jewish Americans worshiping in a synagogue is an act of pure evil.”
Authorities in other US cities, including New York and Los Angeles, said they had increased their presence at synagogues and other Jewish institutions as a precaution in light of the hostage-taking in Colleyville.