United States: hostage taking in progress in a Texas synagogue

Negotiations have been going on for several hours. A police operation was underway on Saturday January 15 to put an end to a hostage-taking in a synagogue in Texas, United States. In the evening, one of the detainees was released. “Shortly after 5 p.m., a male hostage was released unharmed”, Colleyville police said in a statement. “This man will be reunited with his family as soon as possible and does not need medical attention”, she added.

ABC News, citing a source on site, reported that the suspect was armed, that he was originally holding four people hostage, including a rabbi, and claimed to have planted bombs at unknown locations.

US President Joe Biden has been briefed about the hostage taking, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “He will continue to receive updated information from his team”, she tweeted.

Police in Colleyville, near Dallas, said late in the morning that an intervention force operation was underway at an address corresponding to the synagogue of Congregation Beth Israel. The voice of an agitated man at times could be heard on the live broadcast of the religious service on Facebook. “There is something wrong with America”, said the man, as well as ” I will die “, repeatedly asking an unidentified interlocutor that ” his sister “ passed to him on the phone.

“Achieving a sure outcome”

The suspect, according to ABC News, is referring to Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 by a federal court in New York to 86 years in prison for attempting to shoot American servicemen while she was detained in Afghanistan. He is calling for his release, the channel reported, citing an official familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity. According to the same source, she is incarcerated at the Carswell military base, also not far from Dallas. Experts, however, pointed out that the word used by the man in Arabic was figurative and meant ” sister “ in the Islamic faith.

“The negotiators have contacted this person and are working to obtain a secure outcome”Colleyville Police Sergeant Dara Nelson told the newspaper of the alleged hostage taker. The Dallas Morning News. Police said they are evacuating nearby residents and asking the public to avoid the area.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said he had “deployed additional patrols to synagogues and other sites” In the region. Texas Governor Greg Abbott described a situation “tense”, while Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from that state, said “monitor the situation closely” and pray for hostages and response forces.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israeli Consul in Houston Livia Link was on the way. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters held hostage in a synagogue in Texas”, he tweeted in Hebrew.

The World with AFP