Texas hostage-taker dead, hostages freed after all-day standoff; NYC rabbi alerted by phone reported incident to 911

A hostage situation at a suburban Dallas-Fort Worth synagogue ended Saturday with a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire, followed by a tweet from Texas’ governor that all the hostages were free, news reports said.

“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” tweeted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at 9:33 p.m. Central time, more than ten hours after the incident began at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville.

The hostage-taker was killed when a SWAT team entered the synagogue to rescue the hostages, said Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller.

Cops swarmed the synagogue around 11 a.m. Saturday and evacuated the area. Authorities moved in as a rabbi in the synagogue called a New York City rabbi, who in turn called 911, the AP reported.

The hostage-taker claimed to be the brother of Aafia Siddiqui, a suspected Al Qaeda associate convicted of trying to kill U.S. military officers while she was imprisoned in Afghanistan.

The man also claimed to have bombs in unknown locations, ABC News reported.

He took four hostages, including the synagogue’s rabbi. About 5 p.m., one of the hostages was freed, and was reported to be uninjured.

Law enforcement officials gather Saturday at a local school near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.
Law enforcement officials gather Saturday at a local school near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.


Law enforcement officials gather Saturday at a local school near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. (Garreth Patterson/)

The hostage-taker demanded Siddiqui’s release from a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, news reports said.

Siddiqui’s actual brother Muhammad told The Daily Beast through his lawyer that he was not the hostage-taker and not involved in any way.

A Facebook livestream captured early moments of the incident, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In the stream, a man was heard talking about his sister and mentioned Islam.

Law enforcement teams stage near Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. Authorities said a man took hostages Saturday during services at the synagogue. On a Facebook livestream, the man was heard demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.
Law enforcement teams stage near Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. Authorities said a man took hostages Saturday during services at the synagogue. On a Facebook livestream, the man was heard demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.


Law enforcement teams stage near Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. Authorities said a man took hostages Saturday during services at the synagogue. On a Facebook livestream, the man was heard demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. (Lynda M. Gonzalez/)

Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison in 2010. The chief plotter of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, said Siddiqui was connected to Al Qaeda. Siddiqui was convicted of shooting at U.S. military personnel while she was detained in Afghanistan. No one was killed in that incident.

Siddiqui has maintained her innocence throughout the entire case. ISIS has taken hostages in her name, killing journalist James Foley and humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller after attempting to trade them for Siddiqui.

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