The Jerusalem Post ePaper

FBI fatally shot Texas hostage taker

• By CATHERINE MARFIN and JAMIE LANDERS

DALLAS – Malik Faisal Akram, the British Muslim who took hostages inside a Colleyville synagogue last weekend, died after being shot by FBI agents following a nearly 11-hour standoff that authorities are calling an act of terrorism.

According to Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas office who spoke at a Friday news conference, at around 9 p.m., the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team was authorized to breach the synagogue on the south and west sides. As the team approached, the hostages escaped through a door on the northeast side of the building, DeSarno said.

FBI agents exited a side entrance while conducting SWAT operations at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, January 15, in Colleyville, Texas. All four hostages were safe Saturday night. DeSarno said that the incident was committed by a terrorist who was targeting the Jewish community. “Let me be clear, this was both a hate crime and an act of terrorism,” he said.

His remarks were a shift in tone from the initial statements he made last weekend, when he said that the actions of Akram were not related to the Jewish community. (The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

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https://jpost.pressreader.com/article/281758452667754

Jerusalem Post