Texas: Muslim hostage-taker dead, all hostages safe

The FBI and local police said at a news conference Saturday night that three hostages who were held in a Colleyville synagogue for nearly 11 hours are unharmed and the hostage-taker is dead after a hostage rescue team breached the building.

Authorities said the hostage-taker was killed in a shooting but did not answer a question about whether he was shot by law enforcement or if the gunshot was self-inflicted. The man claimed to have explosives, according to statements he made on livestreamed video, but police have not commented on whether any weapons were found.

Exclusive video taken by WFAA-TV photographer Josh Stephen shows at least some of the hostages running out of a door at the synagogue just before FBI agents enter the building. The footage, shot just before 9:15 p.m., shows a man who appears to be holding a gun following the hostages as they escape, then almost immediately going back inside.

Officials said the rescued hostages are being interviewed by the FBI and will be reunited with their families as soon as possible. Authorities did not release the name of the hostage-taker or the ages of the hostages, but did confirm they were all adults.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted about 9:30 p.m. that all hostages, including the congregation’s rabbi, were safe and out of the synagogue after a loud bang and gunfire were heard.

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne first told a Star-Telegram reporter in a text that the hostage-taker was dead.

Police responded to Congregation Beth Israel, at 6100 Pleasant Run Road, about 10:40 a.m. when a man took four hostages during a livestreamed morning service at the synagogue. The man, who police say they have identified but have not named, released one hostage about 5 p.m.

“I am grateful for the safe release of the four hostages and thankful for the skilled and dedicated law enforcement who made their safe release possible,” Van Duyne said on Twitter.

A loud bang followed by what sounded like gunfire was heard about 9:12 p.m. Saturday by reporters outside the synagogue.

Colleyville police confirmed in a statement on social media the the situation was resolved and all hostages were safe then spoke to the media at 10:15 p.m….

The man repeatedly mentioned his sister and Islam and used profanities. He was heard asking for his “sister” to be released from prison.

The man said a few times he didn’t want anyone hurt, and he mentioned his children.

He also said repeatedly he believed he was going to die.

A U.S. official briefed on the matter told ABC News that the suspect was referring to a known terrorist, Aafia Siddiqui, as his sister. Siddiqui is incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Carswell, a women’s prison in Fort Worth, and the hostage-taker was reportedly demanding that she be freed from prison.

According to ABC, the FBI did not confirm the hostage-taker’s identity. Anyone who supports Siddiqui’s cause might call himself her brother even if they’re not related. The Star-Telegram spoke with an attorney who previously represented a brother of Siddiqui. The attorney said she talked to that brother Saturday and he was not the hostage-taker.

Law enforcement had visuals on the hostage taker and were both comparing them with photos of her brother and against their own databases, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

AAFIA SIDDIQUI

Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned on charges related to the attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan.

Aafia Siddiqui was transferred to FMC Carswell for medical reasons and is serving an 86-year sentence. The Pakistani government lodged a complaint against U.S. authorities after she reported she was assaulted by another inmate in July.

Aafia Siddiqui told her attorney she was attacked in her cell on July 30, the Dallas-Fort Worth sector of the Council on American-Islamic Relations previously told the Star-Telegram. Another woman reportedly smashed a coffee mug with scalding hot liquid into Siddiqui’s face. After the attack, Siddiqui was taken out of her cell in a wheelchair and then forced into solitary confinement, CAIR Executive Director Faizan Syed has said.

U.S. authorities say Siddiqui is a dangerous terrorist with ties to the ringleader of 9/11. Counter-terrorism groups have dubbed her “Lady al-Qaeda,” and U.S. officials once described her as “the most wanted woman in the world.” The U.S. government has refused to trade her for American hostages multiple times, including for journalist James Foley prior to his execution by ISIS.

According to the Department of Justice, Siddiqui was detained in Afghanistan in 2008. Officers who searched her found documents about the creation of explosives, descriptions of American landmarks and sealed bottles of chemicals, according to a press release about her arrest.

While in the Afghan facility, U.S. Army officers said, Siddiqui grabbed a rifle from an officer, pointed it at a captain and yelled, “May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your [unintelligible, possibly head or hands].” An interpreter lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger, according to the DOJ. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but did not hit anyone. An Army officer shot Siddiqui in the torso.

In Pakistan, she is widely portrayed as a heroine and martyr. Her family and supporters say the mother of three was falsely accused and used as a scapegoat in the “war on terror” after 9/11, according to a profile in the Guardian. In 2018, the Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed a resolution to take up the matter of Siddiqui’s freedom with the U.S., referring to her as “the Daughter of the Nation.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the hostage-taking incident in a statement.

“This antisemitic attack against a house of worship is unacceptable,” CAIR’s Houston chapter said in the statement. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly free the hostages and bring them to safety.”

“We want to make it very well known that the hostage-taker is NOT Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s brother, who is not even in the same region where this horrible incident is taking place,” the CAIR statement said. “We want the hostage-taker to know that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her family strongly condemn this act and do not stand by you. Dr. Aafia’s family has always stood firm in advocating for the release of their sister from incarceration by legal and non-violent means only.”

At Saturday night’s press conference, the FBI would not confirm any connection between the hostage taker and Aafia Siddiqui.

“All I can confirm is that what you heard on the livestream you did hear on the livestream,” DeSarno said….