Colleyville hostage updates – Malik Faisal Akram identified as man who took Texas synagogue members hostage

President Biden’s statement, continued

“There is more we will learn in the days ahead about the motivations of the hostage taker,” said Biden.

“But let me be clear to anyone who intends to spread hate – we will stand against antisemitism and against the rise of extremism in this country.”

President Biden's official statement

After the hostages were rescued, Biden said in a statement that he is “grateful to the tireless work of law enforcement at all levels who acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages.”

“We are sending love and strength to the members of Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, and the Jewish community.”

CAIR National releases a statement

“Our Houston chapter has verified that the brother of Aafia Siddiqui is not the perpetrator of the Colleyville synagogue attack,” CAIR’s national offices said on Twitter.

“Whoever the attacker is, he’s committing a heinous act of evil.

“No cause can justify or excuse this antisemitic crime.

“We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement swiftly and safely frees the hostages.”

Hostage situation had ‘nothing to do’ with Siddiqui family

In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Mohamed Siddiqui’s legal team stated plainly that the Siddiqui family is not behind the attack on the Colleyville synagogue.

CAIR-Houston Board Chair John Floyd and legal counsel for Aafia’s brother made clear that the hostage-taker is not Mohamed Siddiqui.

Siddiqui “is not even in the same region where this horrible incident is taking place,” the statement reads.

“We want the hostage-taker to know that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her family strongly condemn this act and do not stand by you.

“This assailant has nothing to do with Dr. Aafia, her family, or the global campaign to get justice for Dr. Aafia.

“On behalf of the family and Dr. Aafia, we call on you to immediately release the hostages and turn yourself in.

The CAIR-Houston offices have represented Mohamed Siddiqui since 2004.

Aafia Siddiqui's family not involved

Siddiqui is one of three children of Muhammad Siddiqui, a doctor trained in England, and Ismet, a homemaker.

Muhammed, her brother, is reportedly an architect who lives in Houston with his wife and children.

Fowzia, her sister, is a neurologist and Harvard graduate who worked at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore before she returned to Pakistan.

Despite earlier claims, her family members were not involved in the synagogue attack.

Does Aafia Siddiqui have a criminal background?

Allegedly Siddiqui was arrested in 2008 in Afghanistan for "carrying sodium cyanide, as well as documents describing how to make chemical weapons and dirty bombs and how to weaponize Ebola," writes foreignpolicy.com

She has also been identified as having a hand in Africa's illegal diamond trade, which in earlier years was allegedly a convenient, hard-to-trace way of funding Al Qaeda's global terror operations, as reported by Boston Magazine.

The FBI once named Siddiqui as a woman who has the "knowledge, skills, and intention to continue Al Qaeda's terror war in the United States and abroad."

Who is Aafia Siddiqui?

The gunman demanded to speak to Aafia Siddiqui, who is also known as "Lady Al-Qaeda."

She was once identified as a member of Al-Qaeda, although it is not known if she is still associated with the group.

Born on March 2, 1972, Siddiqui is 50 years old.

She has been linked to 9/11 ringleader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed according to .

Reportedly, she is a Pakistani expat who lived in Boston. She studied at M.I.T. and received a doctorate from Brandeis according to the outlet.

She is also a mother of two. Her husband is reportedly an anesthesiologist at Brigham and Women's.

Incident 'appears to be isolated'

The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund and Jewish Community Relations Council  Sunday.

In it they said, "The Federation’s Community Security team coordinated with the Secure Community Network (SCN), created by Jewish Federations of North America, throughout the day. 

"SCN reports that the situation appears to be local and isolated, and they are not aware of any direct, credible threats to any other institutions."

Homeland Security monitoring for copycats

The hostage event was an isolated incident, according to Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and the Secure Community Network (SCN).

Mayorkas said in a statement that DHS is monitoring social media for copycats.

'Nothing could've convinced' gunman's surrender

A Facebook post on the Blackburn Muslim Community Facebook page claiming to be from Akarm's brother said the gunman was "suffering from mental health issues."

"Sitting in the incident room all last night at Greenbank liaising with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI, etc.. Although my brother was suffering from mental health issues, we were confident that he would not harm hostages," the post said.

"A firefight has taken place, and he was shot and killed ... There was nothing we could've said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender."

The post has since been deleted, but screenshots have circulated Facebook and Twitter.

Harris: combat antisemitism 'wherever it exists'

Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement Sunday: "This morning, we are grateful that four people held hostage in a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas are safe and going home to their families. We thank the brave men and women in federal, state, and local law enforcement, and we stand in solidarity with the Congregation Beth Israel community and the entire Jewish community."

She added: "While we will learn more about the hostage taker’s motivation, we know this: what happened yesterday at Congregation Beth Israel is a reminder that we must speak up and combat antisemitism and hate wherever it exists. Everyone has a right to pray, work, study, and spend time with loved ones not as the other – but as us."

When did Akram come to the US?

Akram reportedly flew into the US about two weeks ago through JFK International Airport in New York, according to  and the . Both outlets cited law enforcement officials.

The FBI didn't officially confirm or deny these reports when asked by The Sun Sunday evening.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is "aware of the death of a British man in Texas and are in contact with the local authorities."

Biden's remarks, continued

When he addressed the topic Sunday, Biden said that investigators didn't find explosive devices at the synagogue.

"There were no bombs that we know of like he said he there were," Biden said.

"Apparently, he spent the first night in a homeless shelter. I don't have all the details yet so I'm reluctant to go into any more details," the president said.

Biden labels event 'terrorism'

President Joe Biden referred to the incident as an act of terrorism and answered a few questions from reporters during a hunger relief event in Philadelphia.

"We don't have all the facts yet, but allegedly he purchased the weapons on the street after he landed," the president said.

Who he bought the guns from is part of the investigation, according to Biden.

What did Rabbi Cytron-Walker say?

Rabbi Cytron-Walker said in a  he was "grateful to be alive" after the ordeal.

He said: "I am thankful and filled with appreciation for
All of the vigils and prayers and love and support,
All of the law enforcement and first responders who cared for us,
All of the security training that helped save us."

What has Malik Faisal Akram's family said?

Statements from Akram's brother were released by :

"We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident."

"...although my brother was suffering from mental health issues we were confident that he would not harm the hostages."

"We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned."

He ended with: "please if you can grant us some privacy as we are grieving privately in our homes."

Who was the attacker in Colleyville?

The gunman was named by officials as Malik Faisal Akram.

Akram, 44, is a British citizen from the town of Blackburn in Lancashire.

He reportedly entered the US two weeks ago.

Did Facebook remove the livestream?

No one was seen on camera through the livestream; only voices were heard.

A Meta company spokesperson later confirmed that Facebook removed the video.

What did the assailant say on the livestream?

Texas resident Victoria Francis told The Associated Press that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out, listening to the suspect, Malik Faisal Akram, rant against America and claim he had a bomb.

“He was just all over the map. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he’d make more threats, like ‘I’m the guy with the bomb. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.’ And he’d laugh at that.

“He was clearly in extreme distress.”

Manchester Police detain two teenagers

The Greater Manchester Police announced they have detained two teenagers in connection with the Colleyville synagogue attack.

In a statement, the police department said the teens were detained "as part of the ongoing investigation," and that the pair remain in custody for questioning.

The Counter Terrorism Policing team "continues to assist the investigation being led by the US authorities," the officials stated.

Police deployed to synagogues nationwide

As a precaution, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau  to synagogues across the city.

Dallas and Los Angeles are also among the cities that stepped up police presence at synagogues as the situation in Colleyville unfolded on Saturday.

Police were stationed around the synagogue in Colleyville along with the FBI for around 12 hours.

Who is Angela Buchdahl?

The hostage-taker called Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City to relay his demands and wanted her to use her influence to secure the release of Siddiqui.

She confirmed her involvement to the , and said she spoke twice to the suspect.

“I can confirm that the gunman reached out to me twice yesterday by phone,” Buchdahl wrote in an email. “We are about to share a note with the congregation just confirming that. Other than that for security reasons I cannot share more.”

It is not clear why Akram called Buchdahl.

When were hostages released?

Late on Saturday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott  that all four people were taken out of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.

On Twitter, he shared the news and commented, “Prayers answered.”

Rabbi Cytron-Walker’s civil rights backgrond

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker hails from Lansing, Michigan, and previously worked at Focus: HOPE, a civil and human rights organization in Detroit, Michigan.

He was also the assistant director of the Amherst Survival Center.

The rabbi graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998 and also attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

He received his rabbinical ordination in 2006.

Rabbi Cytron-Walker is a past president of the South West Association of Reform Rabbis and serves on the steering committee of Peace Together.

Is Rabbi Cytron-Walker married?

Rabbi Cytron-Walker is married to Adena Cytron-Walker.

The pair has two daughters.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Adena was a team manager at Destination Imagination for nearly seven years.

She also served as a teacher at Congregation Beth Israel for nine years.

Adena is the co-author of Intergroup Dialogue in Higher Education: Meaningful Learning about Social Justice.

She is reportedly the vice president of programs at the Multicultural Alliance, where she coordinates Camp CommUNITY, according to the company’s .