Crime & Safety

Photos: Texas Hostage Situation Called 'Terrorism-Related Matter'

A standoff at a Texas synagogue ended with each of four hostages safe, and the gunman killed. The FBI says it's investigating the standoff.

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Rabbi Charlie Citron-Walker talks to reporters outside of Whites Chapel United Methodist Church following a special service Monday in Southlake, Texas.
Rabbi Charlie Citron-Walker talks to reporters outside of Whites Chapel United Methodist Church following a special service Monday in Southlake, Texas. (Emil Lippe/Getty Images)

COLLEYVILLE, TX — A 10-hour hostage situation in a Texas synagogue ended Saturday with each of the four hostages freed, and the gunman dead, authorities said.

The FBI called the situation "terrorism-related" and said it targeted the Jewish community The Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the incident, The Associated Press reported.

Authorities identified the hostage-taker as 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, a British citizen who authorities said repeatedly discussed during negotiations about freeing Aafia Siddiqui. Siddiqui is a woman imprisoned on charges of trying to kill American service members in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported.

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The hostage situation happened at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, a city of about 26,000 people located about 30 miles northwest of Dallas. Authorities also said Akram stayed in area homeless shelters for up to two weeks before the standoff.

A message offers support at Pleasant Run Baptist Church Monday in Colleyville, Texas. A 44-year-old British national over the weekend stormed into the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville with a gun and held four people hostage for more than 10 hours. (Emil Lippe/Getty Images)
Police stand in front of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, Sunday in Colleyville, Texas. The hostages were able to escape and the hostage-taker was killed in a "shooting incident." FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said a team would investigate "the shooting incident." (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Law enforcement officials talk to each other after a news conference where they announced that all hostages at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue were safe and the hostage-taker was dead on Saturday in Colleyville, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
FBI Special Agent In Charge Matthew DeSarno speaks at a news conference near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue Saturday in Colleyville, Texas. All four people who were held hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue were safely released after more than 10 hours of being held captive by a gunman. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Law enforcement officials gather at a local school near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday in Colleyville, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Authorities said the man who took hostages could be heard ranting in a live stream video, demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
In this 2011 file photo, people are seen demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in February 2010 of two counts of attempted murder, and who was being detained in the U.S. The man who authorities say was holding hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned on charges of trying to kill American service members in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)
The man who authorities say was holding hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned on charges of trying to kill American service members in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/ File)
An aerial view of police standing in front of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, Sunday in Colleyville, Texas
President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press about the Texas synagogue hostage incident before volunteering with first lady Jill Biden, back right, at hunger relief organization Philabundance, Sunday in Philadelphia. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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