Ranting man apparently takes hostages at Texas synagogue

COLLEYVILLE, Texas – Authorities said a antheral took hostages Saturday during services astatine a Texas synagogue wherever the fishy could beryllium heard ranting successful a livestream earlier the provender chopped out.

The Colleyville Police Department tweeted Saturday day that it was conducting SWAT operations astatine the code of Congregation Beth Israel, northeast of Fort Worth.

At slightest 4 hostages were believed to beryllium wrong the synagogue, according to 2 instrumentality enforcement officials who were not authorized to sermon the ongoing probe and who spoke to The Associated Press connected the information of anonymity. The synagogue's rabbi was believed to beryllium among the hostages, 1 of the officials said.

Authorities are inactive trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the merchandise of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda, who was convicted of trying to termination U.S. subject officers portion successful custody successful Afghanistan, 1 of the instrumentality enforcement officials said. Siddiqui is successful national situation successful Texas.

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The officials said investigators person not positively identified the antheral and cautioned that the accusation was based connected a preliminary probe arsenic the concern was inactive rapidly developing.

FBI Dallas spokeswoman Katie Chaumont said an FBI SWAT squad was besides astatine the country and that situation negotiators had been communicating with idiosyncratic wrong the synagogue. But she could not accidental whether the idiosyncratic was equipped and she declined to picture what the idiosyncratic had said to authorities, citing operational sensitivity.

Police were archetypal called to the synagogue astir 11 a.m. and radical were evacuated from the surrounding vicinity soon aft that, Chaumont said.

There person been nary reported injuries, Chaumont said.

“It’s an evolving situation, and we person a batch of instrumentality enforcement unit connected scene,” Chaumont said.

Law enforcement unopen down entree to the roads surrounding the synagogue Saturday afternoon.

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The services were being livestreamed connected the synagogue's Facebook leafage for a time. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an aggravated antheral could beryllium heard ranting and talking astir religion astatine times during the livestream, which didn't amusement what was happening wrong the synagogue.

Shortly earlier 2 p.m., the antheral said, “You got to bash something. I don’t privation to spot this feline dead.” Moments later, the provender chopped out.

The man, who utilized profanities, repeatedly mentioned his sister, Islam and that helium thought helium was going to die, the Star-Telegram reported.

Texas nonmigratory Victoria Francis told The Associated Press that she watched astir an hr of the livestream earlier it chopped out. She said she heard the antheral rant against America and assertion helium had a bomb.

“He was conscionable each implicit the map. He was beauteous irritated and the much irritated helium got, he’d marque much threats, similar ‘I’m the feline with the bomb. If you marque a mistake, this is each connected you.’ And he’d laughter astatine that,” she said. “He was intelligibly successful highly distress.”

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Francis, who lives successful Rhome, Texas and grew up adjacent Colleyville, tuned successful aft she work connected Facebook that determination was a hostage concern astatine the synagogue. She said it sounded similar the antheral was talking to the constabulary section connected the phone, with the rabbi and different idiosyncratic trying to assistance with the negotiations.

When the livestream chopped out, the antheral was getting beauteous irate, Francis said.

“It’s a scary situation. I’m hopeful it ends the champion mode it can, evidently with nary 1 hurt,” she said. “Especially successful this area, you ne'er deliberation thing similar this is going to deed location until it does.”

Colleyville, a assemblage of astir 26,000 people, is astir 15 miles (23 kilometers) northeast of Fort Worth.

White House property caput Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had been briefed and was receiving updates from elder officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said helium was monitoring the concern closely. “We commune for the information of the hostages and rescuers,” helium wrote connected Twitter.

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Israel’s consul wide successful Houston is connected her mode to the country of the incident, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said successful a statement, adding that Israeli officials “are successful adjacent interaction with American instrumentality enforcement agencies.”

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Michael Balsamo successful Washington, D.C.; and Issac Scharf successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.

For copyright information, cheque with the distributor of this item, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.