COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) 鈥� The FBI says the man who held hostages for hours inside a Texas synagogue was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community.
Authorities said Saturday night that all four hostages held at Congregation Beth Israel are safe and unharmed. One was released during the standoff, three others were rescued when authorities entered the building. Authorities say the hostage taker is dead but are not saying how he was killed.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said there was no immediate indication that the man had connections to any broader plan but that the agency's investigation 鈥渨ill have global reach.鈥� A law enforcement official earlier told the AP that the hostage-taker demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) 鈥� Hostages who had been held for hours inside a Texas synagogue were rescued Saturday night, according to Gov. Greg Abbott, bringing an end to a standoff that had lasted nearly 12 hours.
鈥淧rayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,鈥� Abbott tweeted.
Abbott鈥檚 tweet came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue, where authorities said a man had held people captive as he demanded the release of who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.
The hostage-taker was later declared dead, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Details of the rescue or the man's death were not immediately released.
At least four hostages were initially believed to be inside the synagogue, according to three law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The synagogue's rabbi was believed to be among the hostages, one of the officials said. One of the officials said the man claimed to be armed but authorities had not confirmed whether he was.
The Colleyville Police Department said one hostage was released uninjured shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. The man was expected to be reunited with his family and did not require medical attention. A law enforcement official said the first hostage who was released was not the rabbi.
Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.
The officials said investigators have not positively identified the man and cautioned that the information was based on a preliminary investigation.
A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Siddiqui鈥檚 release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911 .
Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokesperson Katie Chaumont said.
The services were being livestreamed on the synagogue's Facebook page for a time. The that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which didn't show what was happening inside the synagogue.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the man said, 鈥淵ou got to do something. I don鈥檛 want to see this guy dead.鈥� Moments later, the feed cut out. A Meta company spokesperson later confirmed that Facebook removed the video.
Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Siddiqui as his 鈥渟ister鈥� on the livestream, but Faizan Syed, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations in Dallas Fort-Worth Texas, told The Associated Press that Siddiqui鈥檚 brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved. Syed said CAIR鈥檚 support and prayers were with the people being held in the synagogue.
Texas resident Victoria Francis told the AP that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out. She said she heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb.
鈥淗e was just all over the map. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he鈥檇 make more threats, like 鈥業鈥檓 the guy with the bomb. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.鈥� And he鈥檇 laugh at that,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e was clearly in extreme distress.鈥�
Francis, who grew up near Colleyville, tuned in after she read about the hostage situation. She said it sounded like the man was talking to the police department on the phone, with the rabbi and another person trying to help with the negotiations.
Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth. The synagogue is nestled among large houses in a leafy residential neighborhood that includes several churches, a middle and elementary school and a horse farm.
Congregation Beth Israel is led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who has been there since 2006 as the synagogue鈥檚 first full-time rabbi. He has worked to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion and learning to the community, according to his biography, and he loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people, into the congregation.
Anna Salton Eisen, a founder and former president of the synagogue, said the congregation has about 140 members and Cytron-Walker has worked hard to build interfaith relationships in the community, including doing pulpit swaps and participating in a community peace walk. She described Saturday's events as 鈥渟urreal.鈥�
鈥淭his is unlike anything we鈥檝e ever experienced. You know, it鈥檚 a small town and it鈥檚 a small congregation,鈥� Eisen said as the hostage situation was ongoing. "No matter how it turns out it鈥檚 hard to fathom how we will all be changed by this, because surely we will be.鈥�
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had been briefed and was receiving updates from senior officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was monitoring the situation closely. 鈥淲e pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,鈥� he wrote on Twitter.
CAIR, the nation鈥檚 largest Muslim advocacy group, condemned the attack Saturday afternoon.
鈥淭his latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil,鈥� CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement. 鈥淲e stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages. No cause can justify or excuse this crime.鈥�
Siddiqui earned advanced degrees from Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she was sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on charges that she assaulted and shot at U.S. Army officers after being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. The punishment sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who viewed her as victimized by the American criminal justice system.
In the years since, Pakistan officials have expressed interest publicly in any sort of deal or swap that could result in her release from U.S. custody, and her case has continued to draw attention from supporters. In 2018, for instance, an Ohio man who prosecutors say planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui is being held in an attempt to free her was .
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Tucker and Balsamo reported from Washington, D.C.; Associated Press writers Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island; Michael R. Sisak in New York; Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tenn.; Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas; and Issac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Jake Bleiberg, Eric Tucker And Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press
