“There may be some loud noises” but “there is no need for concern,” the department said. Overnight, the Colleyville Police Department announced that FBI bomb technicians were disposing of some ordinances at the synagogue. Texas authorities evacuated nearby residents during the ordeal. “At any moment, I thought there was going to be a gunshot,” she said. The man reportedly told congregants that he was “not a criminal” and vacillated from apologetic concern, speaking in different languages and “screaming hysterically,” congregation member Stacey Silverman later told CNN. Roughly 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers, including a team of FBI agents from Virginia, converged on the synagogue on Saturday morning.Įmergency teams near Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday (Smiley N. She said her client maintains her innocence. Though she has not spoken to Siddiqui since the attack began, she said her client would “condemn this and not support this in any way” and had “always maintained that no violence should be done in her name”.
we don’t know who he is and why he decided to do the irrational thing he’s doing now.” “We have no idea where this guy came from. “He has no relation to the family, no relation to the supporters, nothing,” Ms Elbially said. Marwa Elbially told The Independent that she has no idea who the man is nor does he have any connection to the Siddiqui family. In a statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety said the man demanded to see his “sister” Siddiqui.Īn attorney who represents Siddiqui said “she has absolutely no involvement with” the incident, nor is the man her brother. US Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN on Sunday that “the FBI has now fanned their investigation out to London and Tel Aviv, so this has now turned into an international investigation.” “We will continue to work to find motives and we will continue on that path in terms of the resolution of the incident,” he said. Mr DeSarno said that police believe the man was “singularly focused on one issue and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community”. “We have been in contact already with multiple FBI to include Tel Aviv and London,” he said. Video captured at the scene shows law enforcement surrounding the building as people flee from a side door of the synagogue.įBI special agent in charge Matthew DeSarno told reporters on Saturday that a law enforcement investigation “will have global reach.”
One hostage was released shortly after 5pm, and the standoff with police concluded after 9pm. The man, who was reportedly armed with a gun and explosives, took four people hostage, including the rabbi. On the livestream, a man with an apparent British accent could be heard shouting and demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of ties to al-Qaeda and convicted in Texas of trying to kill US military officers in Afghanistan. Police were called to Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, outside of Fort Worth, before 11am on Saturday during a morning service which was being live-streamed to Facebook.
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