Texas rabbi says he, two hostages escaped synagogue standoff

The rabbi of a Texas synagogue where a gunman took hostages during livestreamed services said on Monday that he threw a chair at his captor before escaping with two others after an hours-long standoff, crediting past security training for getting himself and his congregants out safely.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings that he let the gunman inside the suburban Fort Worth synagogue on Saturday because he appeared to need shelter. He said the man was not threatening or suspicious at first. Later, he heard a gun click as he was praying.

Another man held hostage, Jeffrey R Cohen, described the ordeal on Facebook on Monday.

"First of all, we escaped. We weren't released or freed," said Cohen, who was one of four people in the synagogue for services that many other Congregation Beth Israel members were watching online.

Colleyville police Chief Michael Miller addresses reporters in a nearby parking lot after the conclusion of a SWAT operation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. Photo / AP

Cohen said the men worked to keep the gunman engaged. They talked to the gunman, he lectured them. At one point as the situation devolved, Cohen said the gunman told them to get on their knees. Cohen recalled rearing up in his chair and slowly moving his head and mouthing "no." As the gunman moved to sit back down, Cohen said Cytron-Walker yelled to run.

"The exit wasn't too far away," Cytron-Walker said. "I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door. And all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired."

Authorities identified the hostage-taker as 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed on Saturday night after the last three hostages ran out of the synagogue in Colleyville around 9pm. The first hostage was released shortly after 5pm.

The FBI on Sunday night issued a statement calling the ordeal "a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted" and said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating. The agency noted that Akram spoke repeatedly during negotiations about a prisoner who is serving an 86-year sentence in the US. The statement followed comments Saturday from the special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas field office that the hostage-taker was focused on an issue "not specifically related to the Jewish community".

Law enforcement teams stage near Congregation Beth Israel while conducting SWAT operations. Photo / AP

Akram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who was convicted of trying to kill US Army officers in Afghanistan.

"The last hour or so of the standoff, he wasn't getting what he wanted. It didn't look good. It didn't sound good. We were terrified," Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings.

Video of the standoff's end from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Moments later, several shots and then an explosion could be heard.

Authorities have declined to say who shot Akram, saying it was still under investigation.

The investigation stretched to England, where late on Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not say whether the pair faced any charges.

President Joe Biden called the episode an act of terror. Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said Akram allegedly purchased a weapon on the streets.

Federal investigators believe Akram purchased the handgun used in the hostage-taking in a private sale, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Akram arrived in the US at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York about two weeks ago, a law enforcement official said.

Akram arrived in the US on a tourist visa from Great Britain, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not intended to be public. London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its counter-terrorism police were liaising with US authorities about the incident.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel told the House of Commons on Monday that she had spoken to her US counterpart, Alejandro Mayorkas, and offered "the full support" of the police and security services in Britain in the investigation.

Akram used his phone during the course of negotiations to communicate with people other than law enforcement, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorised to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It wasn't clear why Akram chose the synagogue, though the prison where Siddiqui is serving her sentence is in Fort Worth.

Michael Finfer, the president of the congregation, said in a statement "there was a one in a million chance that the gunman picked our congregation".

Cytron-Walker said his congregation had received training from local authorities and the Secure Community Network, which was founded in 2004 by a coalition of Jewish organizations and describes itself as "the official safety and security organization" of the Jewish community in North America. Michael Masters, the CEO of the organization, said the congregation had provided security training in August and had not been previously aware of Akram.

The standoff led authorities to tighten security in other places, including New York City, where police said that they increased their presence "at key Jewish institutions" out of an abundance of caution.

- AP