DALLAS (Transatlantic Today): According to local and federal police officials, all hostages have been freed unharmed from a synagogue in Dallas-Fort Worth after a more than 10-hour siege, and the suspect is now dead.
Officials claimed the hostages were being held by a man who demanded the release of a federal prisoner who was convicted in 2010 of attempted homicide in a terrorism-related case and was being imprisoned in North Texas.
One of the captives was freed just after 5 p.m., according to NBC News, and FBI crisis negotiators continued to talk with the man in the synagogue late Saturday.
The FBI’s hostage rescue team broke into the synagogue around 9 p.m. and rescued the hostages, according to Colleyville Police Chief Michael C. Miller.
The suspect, whose identification has not been revealed, is dead, according to Miller. The manner in which the individual died was not disclosed by officials.
Officials stated that the hostages, all of whom were adults, were not physically hurt and did not require medical attention.
The individual told authorities he wanted Aafia Siddiqui released from federal jail, according to three senior law enforcement officials informed on the incident. They further said that the kidnapper had the rabbi in Colleyville contact a rabbi in New York City to inform him that he was being held captive and that he wanted his “sister” Siddiqui released.
Siddiqui, 49, was found guilty by a US jury in 2010 of assassination attempt on US officers in Afghanistan and is presently being detained at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.
Counter-terrorism teams from the New York Police Department were sighted Saturday visiting a synagogue affiliated to the New York rabbi who got the call.
Officials received reports that a “gunman” had entered the synagogue and kidnapped four hostages, according to Miller, the Colleyville police chief. Local officials responded by evacuating residents in the area.
Hostage negotiators had contact with the individual for significant periods of time, according to FBI Dallas special agent in charge Matthew DeSarno, who praised their work, as well as that of the almost 200 state, federal, and local law enforcement agents, with the resolution.
Several government leaders and faith-based organizations, including President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, stated they were keeping a check on the situation and expressed optimism for a conflict-free resolution.
Biden commended those who labored to return the four captives to their family late Saturday night.
Image via Yahoo News
