Colleyville hostage-taker ‘entered US weeks ago before buying weapons on the street and sleeping in homeless shelter’
THE man who took hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday was reportedly in the US less than a month before he bought guns on the street.
British national Malik Faisal Akram, 44, allegedly purchased weapons after he landed in the country, President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
The hostage-taker was identified by the FBI as British national Malik Faisal Akram, 44, who "allegedly purchased weapons on the street after he landed," President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
Akram, who was killed as the FBI stormed the building, kept members of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville captive for almost 12 hours during a tense standoff on Saturday.
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.
As the situation unfolded, Akram claimed to have bombs in a backpack.
Investigators said they have not yet found any explosive material at the scene, and Biden repeated that on Sunday.
"There were no bombs that we know of like he said there were. Apparently, he spent the first night in a homeless shelter.
Read our Texas synagogue hostage situation live blog for the latest news and updates...
"I don't have all the details yet so I'm reluctant to go into any more details," the president said.
Akram – from the town of Blackburn in Lancashire, England – 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.
The FBI confirmed that the suspect was killed after loud bangs and gunfire were heard inside the building.
The incident was extraordinarily captured on the synagogue's livestream, with the captor demanding the release of terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill US Army officers in Afghanistan.
'SUFFERED FROM MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES'
A Facebook post on the Blackburn Muslim Community Facebook page claiming to be from Akram's brother said he 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 on Facebook and Twitter.
One of the hostages, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, said Akram became "increasingly belligerent and threatening" towards the end of the incident.
'AN ISOLATED INCIDENT'
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.
"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."
MORE ARRESTS
The FBI has said they believe Akram acted alone.
However, police in the UK on Sunday announced they arrested two teenagers in connection with the standoff in the United States.
“As part of the ongoing investigation into the attack that took place at a Synagogue in Texas on 15 January 2022, Officers from Counter Terror Policing North West have made two arrests in relation to the incident.
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“Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester this evening. They remain in custody for questioning.
"CTP North West and CTP International operations continues to assist the investigation being led by the US authorities, and police forces in the region are liaising with local communities to put in place any measures to provide further reassurance."
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