Google Earth view Beth Israel Temple, Colleyville, Texas
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A man appeared to have taken people hostage at a synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday.
Colleyville Police Department say on Twitter it is conducting SWAT operations at the Beth Israel Congregation site in Colleyville, Texas. The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety were also at the scene, according to CNN. US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a tweet it has also supported the situation.
Multiple reports say that four people are being held hostage, including a rabbi. It is not clear how many people were in the building. CNN reports that so far there have been no reported injuries and that residents in the nearby area have been evacuated.
The synagogue was live-streaming its service on Facebook when listeners began to hear muffled audio between an alleged hostage-taker and the negotiators, according to reports. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The video has been taken down.
The newspaper said an angry man could be heard shouting and talking about religion, but the live stream did not show what was happening inside the building. The man is said to have mentioned his sister and Islam, and said several times that he thought he was going to die, according to reports.
Colleyville, a town with a population of about 26,000, is about 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth.
A White House official told NBC News they are “closely monitoring” the potential hostage situation.
The hostage-taker has told authorities he wants to release Aafia Siddiqui from federal prison, according to NBC News, citing three senior law enforcement officials. Siddiqui was found guilty by a federal jury in 2010 of attempting to kill American officers in Afghanistan. She is currently being held at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. It is not clear if the person is related to Siddiqui.
Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist with advanced degrees from Brandeis University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was sentenced to 86 years in prison in 2010 for assaulting and shooting US military officers after detained in Afghanistan two years earlier. The punishment has sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who see her as a victim of the American criminal justice system.
In the years since, Pakistani officials have expressed public interest in any sort of deal or swap that could lead to her release from US custody and her case. She continues to attract attention from supporters. For example, in 2018, an Ohio man who prosecutors said had planned to fly to Texas and attack the prison where Siddiqui was being held to free her was sentenced to 22 years in prison. .
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was closely monitoring the situation. “We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” he wrote on Twitter.
Israel’s consul general in Houston is on his way to the scene of the incident, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement, adding that Israeli officials “are in close contact with law enforcement agencies.” of America.”
–The Associated Press contributed to this article.
