Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 13, 2026

Texas synagogue hostage-taker was British

Texas synagogue hostage-taker was British

A man who took four hostages at a synagogue in a suburb of Dallas, Texas, has been identified by the FBI as British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44.

The man who interrupted a morning service in Colleyville on Saturday was shot and killed after a 10-hour standoff with police.

All of the hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel were freed unharmed.

US President Joe Biden called the hostage-taking an "act of terror" and the UK condemned the attack.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described it as an "act of terrorism and anti-Semitism", adding: "We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate."

There is currently no indication that others were involved, the FBI in Dallas said. Police sources say that no explosive material was found on the attacker's body.

A brother of Malik Faisal Akram issued a statement apologising to the victims and saying he had been suffering from "mental health issues".

Negotiators had spent hours talking to the assailant during the standoff.

How did the hostage-taking unfold?


Among the hostages was the synagogue's rabbi. One was released after six hours with the other three being led to safety by police several hours later.

The incident began at around 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) when police were called to the synagogue. People were evacuated from the area shortly after.

The attacker gained initial access to the synagogue during the service by claiming to be a homeless man, according to a police source quoted by CBS.

A live stream of the Shabbat morning service on Facebook captured audio of a man talking loudly. He could be heard saying: "You get my sister on the phone" and "I am gonna die."

He was also heard saying: "There's something wrong with America." The feed was later taken down.

The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who is currently serving an 86-year prison term in the US, law enforcement officials told local media.

Siddiqui was convicted of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan. Thousands took to the streets in Pakistan to protest against her conviction in 2010.

President Biden appeared to confirm the attacker had been seeking her release, saying the Texas attack was related to "someone who was arrested 15 years ago and has been in jail for 10 years".

After the Islamic State (IS) group kidnapped American journalist James Foley in Syria in 2012, they emailed his family demanding the release of Siddiqui.

A lawyer representing Siddiqui told CNN in a statement that the hostage-taker was not her brother, saying Siddiqui's family condemned his "heinous" actions.

Texas resident Victoria Francis, who was watching the live stream before it cut out, told the Associated Press that she had heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb.

"He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he'd make more threats," she said.

The rabbi of the synagogue, Charlie Cytron-Walker, said in a statement that a variety of security courses taken in the past had prepared him for the incident.

"We are alive today because of that education. I encourage all Jewish congregations, religious groups, schools, and others to participate in active-shooter and security courses," he said.

"In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening," he added.

"Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself."

What else do we know about the attacker?


In the UK, counter-terrorist police confirmed that Malik Faisal Akram was originally from the Blackburn area of Lancashire.

Counter Terrorism Policing North West said it was assisting with the US-led investigation into the attack.

The dead man's brother Gulbar confirmed his death in a statement carried by Blackburn Muslim Community.

Gulbar said he had liaised "with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc" during the siege but "there was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender".

"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," he added.

"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."

According to US police sources, Malik Faisal Akram arrived on US soil approximately two weeks ago via New York's JFK International Airport.

President Biden said the attacker had apparently bought weapons after he landed and had not used bombs.

"Apparently he spent the first night in a homeless shelter," he added. "I don't have all the details yet."

Police are investigating whether or not he had appeared on any terrorist screening database or watch list, and are also assessing his mental health. US federal courts do not show he had any criminal history.

According to the CBS source, investigators "assessed" through their communication with the man during the hostage crisis that he appeared to be "emotionally unstable".


Watch a briefing by an FBI agent after the stand-off in Colleyville, Texas


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Netflix Weighs Always-On Channels, Bundles and Short-Form Video
Passenger Is Pulled Partly Outside Ryanair Jet After Window Fails Mid-Flight
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Following Massive Investor Demand: SK Hynix Raises 26.5 Billion Dollars on Nasdaq
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
After Four Years, and Under a Heavy Veil of Secrecy: King Charles Meets His Grandchildren, Harry and Meghan's Children
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
Westminster in Freefall as Farage's By-Election Gamble Triggers Broader Systemic Crises
Institutional Fractures and Political Volatility Reshape Britain's Domestic Landscape
Deadly Fire, Health Emergencies and Political Upheaval Shape a Volatile Global News Cycle
Flight Instructor Jumped to His Death — Student Landed the Plane: "You Know What You Need to Do"
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Prince Harry Suffers Major Court Defeat in Legal Battle Against Daily Mail Publisher
Bonnie Tyler, Welsh Singer Behind Total Eclipse of the Heart, Dies at 75
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama
Federal Financial Framework Shifts as Treasury Launches Universal Savings Program for Minors
French Court Allows Le Pen to Run for Presidency, but with an Electronic Tag: "I Will Appeal, and I Will Run"
$1.4 Trillion: The Lawsuit That Could Crush Meta
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
UK Daily Briefing: Legal Developments and Social Issues
Political Turmoil and Rising Costs
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Logic Flaw in Windows 11 Permission Architecture Silently Consumes Hundreds of Gigabytes of Local Storage
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Deep Purple Has Released Its Best Album in Decades
Microsoft Lays Off 4,800 Employees and Xbox Suffers the Hardest Blow
Morocco and France Advance as 2026 FIFA World Cup Enters Quarterfinals.
Historic 2026 Tour de France Opens in Barcelona With Revamped Team Time Trial.
Global Mergers and Acquisitions Approach $4 Trillion Defying Geopolitical Tumult.
Negotiators Advance 20-Point Framework for Gaza Ceasefire and Demilitarization.
OECD Warns Middle East Conflict Will Depress Global Economic Growth.
Ukrainian Drones Strike Major Oil Terminal in St. Petersburg.
World Meteorological Organization Issues Urgent Alert Over Rapidly Intensifying El Niño.
United States Commemorates 250th Anniversary With Diplomatic Summits and Global Flotilla.
Iran Begins Days-Long Funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei Amid Strait of Hormuz Standoff.
Technology giant reports surging carbon emissions driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure demands.
Artificial intelligence adoption accelerates workforce reductions across the technology and financial sectors.
Global technology and financial conglomerates collaborate to launch a new stablecoin standard.
United States regulators lift export restrictions on a major frontier artificial intelligence model.
Luxury bags take over the World Cup: style, status symbol, or just showing off?
×