A hostage attack at a synagogue in Texas, USA, was suppressed after 11 hours without any victims. The hostage was confirmed to be a British man in his 40s, who had demanded the release of a Pakistani-born female scientist associated with the international terrorist group al-Qaeda.
On the 16th local time, the Washington Post (WP) and CNN broadcasts reported that the suspect in the 11-hour hostage run at the synagogue in Colleyville, Texas the day before was identified as British national Mullik Faisal Akram (44).
Akram entered the synagogue in ‘Congregation Beth Israel’, where the Sabbath service was being held, armed with a gun, and took four people, including a rabbi, a Jewish priest, as hostages and killed them while fighting the police. Fortunately, all the hostages were released or rescued safely.
At that time, the chapel was in the middle of a video worship service through Zoom due to the Corona 19. On this day, the hostage play was broadcast live to about 26,000 people, including believers, who were connected to Zoom.
Devotees Olivia Zelling and Stacy Silverman, who watched the hostage play on video, said, “The worship service suddenly changed from ‘prayer’ to ‘panic.’ It was scary.”
Akram arrived in Texas at the end of December 2021 at New York Airport. It is known that she demanded the release of Afia Sidiki, a Pakistani-born female scientist associated with al-Qaeda.
Matthew Desano, director of the FBI’s Dallas branch, confirmed the identity of Akram and said, “There are currently no indications that anyone else was involved in the hostage act.”
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