City
Epaper

FBI identifies Texas synagogue hostage-taker; Biden calls incident 'act of terror'

By ANI | Updated: January 17, 2022 07:00 IST

A 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram, who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue, that was called an "act of terror" by US President Joe Biden, was killed on Sunday after a tense standoff.

Open in App

A 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram, who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue, that was called an "act of terror" by US President Joe Biden, was killed on Sunday after a tense standoff.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Akram, who was demanding the release of the Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan.

"Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSamo of the FBI Dallas Field Office confirmed today the identity of the Colleyville, Texas hostage-taker as British Citizen, Malik Faisal Akram, 44," said the FBI release.

At least four people were taken hostages by a man at a synagogue in the town of Colleyville for more than ten hours on Saturday.

As per the release, the FBI's Evidence Response Team (ERT) will continue processing evidence at the synagogue.

An FBI Shooting Incident Review Team (SIRT) will conduct a thorough, factual, and objective, investigation of the events.

Meanwhile, Biden termed the synagogue hostage-taking incident in the Texan city of Colleyville as an "act of terror."

"This was an act of terror, and not only was he (44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram) related to someone who had been arrested I might add 15 years ago and had been in jail for 10 years.

Biden said he had spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the hostage crisis. "Regarding Texas and the synagogue, I spoke this morning with the Attorney General, and we got a rundown. He said there was overwhelming cooperation with the local authorities and FBI, and they did one hell of a job," said the US President.

Biden applauded FBI and local authorities and reiterated that the US has the capacity to deal with such assaults.

"And they did just a great job. I also told him that I wanted to make sure that we got the word out that synagogues and other places of worship are not going to tolerate this. We have the capacity to deal with the assault on particularly," said Biden.

"The Attorney General is focused that we deal with these kinds of acts. And thank God we had such professional FBI as well as local cooperation," added Biden

He also said that he will talk to the Rabbi who was taken hostage.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Tags: ColleyvilleusFederal Bureau Of InvestigationFBIMalik faisal akramJoe Biden
Open in App

Related Stories

BusinessGlobal Tech Firms Eye India for Manufacturing Amid US-China Tensions

InternationalIllinois Plane Crash: 4 Killed After Cessna C180G Aircraft Goes Down After Hitting Power Lines in Trilla

NationalPM Narendra Modi Discusses Tech and Innovation Collaboration With Elon Musk

InternationalCalifornia Shooting: 6 People Injured in Firing Outside Barbershop in Stockton

Social ViralA US Woman Flies to an Andhra Pradesh Village To Meet Her Instagram Boyfriend (Watch Video)

International Realted Stories

InternationalEAM Jaishankar thanks Germany for solidarity on Pahalgam attack

International"This kind of barbarism totally unacceptable": World leaders stand in solidarity with India after heinous Pahalgam Terror Attack

InternationalBuddhist Conclave in Namsai concludes with prayers and cultural unity

InternationalAmerican congressional delegation visits Israel on holocaust remembrance day

InternationalRing trafficking women in Israel for prostitution uncovered, three arrested