The rabbi of Texas says he threw a chair at the hostage before he escaped Crime News
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The rabbi was one of the four Jewish congregations taken prisoner in a synagogue In the U.S. state of Texas over the weekend, he and others said they fled after throwing a chair at the hostage and then going to an exit door.
Authorities identified the hostage as a 44-year-old British citizen. Malik Faisal Akram, the last guerrillas killed on Saturday night after Beth Israel left the congregation near Fort Worth, Texas, around 9pm (Sunday 3am GMT).
It is unclear whether Akram committed suicide or was killed by FBI hostage members of a rescue team.
The suspect knocked on the door of the synagogue during Saturday prayers and was invited and offered tea, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS.
After Cytron-Walker returned to prayer, “he heard a click – and it could have been anything – but he said it was his gun.”
A hostage was unharmed after a six-hour negotiating tension with the suspect’s family.
Still held captive with two others, Walker said he used training from previous FBI guerrillas to decide whether to try to escape.
“When I saw that he was not in a good condition, the two gentlemen who were still with me were ready to go. [and that] the exit was not far away, ”Cytron-Walker said.
“I told him to go. I threw a chair at the gunsmith, and I went for the door, and the three of us were able to get out without a single shot. ‘
The FBI hostage then searched the rescue squad at the synagogue.
The agency released the calvary on Sunday night, calling it a “terrorism-related issue in which the Jewish community is targeted,” and said it was investigating the United Terrorism Group.
The FBI reported that Akram had repeatedly spoken out in negotiations about a prisoner serving an 86-year sentence in the U.S.
Akram could be heard in a live stream on Facebook demanding release Aafia Siddiqui, A Pakistani neuroscientist convicted in 2010 of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan and sentenced to 86 years in prison.
His sentence sparked outrage among Pakistani political leaders and supporters, who were seen as victims of the U.S. criminal justice system. Siddiqui’s lawyer said he was not involved in the hostage situation.
Meanwhile, the investigation has spread to England, where Manchester police reported Sunday night that two teenagers had been arrested in connection with the incident.
Police in Manchester have tweeted that counter-terrorism agents have made arrests, but have not said whether the couple has been charged.
A video of the Dallas-affiliated ABC affiliate WFAA-TV showing people walking out of the synagogue, then holding a gun in his hand, would open the door for a few seconds before turning around and closing.
Moments later, several shots were heard, followed by the sound of explosions.
Cytron-Walker said previous security training at the Fort Worth neighborhood congregation had allowed him and three other hostages to face a 10-hour test, which he described as traumatic.
“In the last hours of our hostage crisis, the gunsmith has become increasingly belligerent and threatening,” the rabbi said in a statement. “Without the instructions we received, we would not be ready to act and flee when the situation presented itself.”
Federal investigators believe Akram bought the gun used to take the hostages at a private sale, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Akram arrived in the U.S. at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City about two weeks ago, a law enforcement official said.
President Joe Biden told reporters Sunday that the incident was “an act of terror.”
“Supposedly – I don’t have all the details, not even the chief prosecutor – but he said he allegedly took the weapons out into the street,” Biden said. Tighten U.S. gun laws between the rise of crime and mass shootings.
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