海角大神

Authorities on Sunday identified a British national as the man who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue for 10 hours before an FBI SWAT team stormed the building, ending a tense standoff that President Joe Biden called 鈥渁n act of terror.鈥�

Malik Faisal Akram was shot and killed after the last of the hostages got out at around 9 p.m. Saturday at Congregation Beth Israel near Fort Worth. In a statement, the FBI said there was no indication that anyone else was involved, but it didn鈥檛 provide a possible motive.

Mr. Akram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. The FBI and police spokeswomen declined to answer questions Saturday night about who shot Mr. Akram when the standoff ended.

Video from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Moments later, several rounds of gunfire could be heard, followed by the sound of an explosion.

鈥淩est assured, we are focused,鈥� Mr. Biden said during a visit to a food pantry in Philadelphia on Sunday morning. 鈥淭he attorney general is focused and making sure that we deal with these kinds of acts.鈥�

Mr. Biden said the suspect was able to purchase weapons on the street and may have only been in the country a few weeks. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to questions Sunday about Mr. Akram鈥檚 immigration status and history.

London鈥檚 Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its counter-terrorism police were liaising with U.S. authorities about the incident.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said the hostage-taker was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community, and there was no immediate indication that the man was part of any broader plan. But Mr. DeSarno said the agency鈥檚 investigation 鈥渨ill have global reach.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 clear why Mr. Akram chose the synagogue.

Law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity earlier said the hostage-taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda who is in a federal prison in Texas. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials, one of whom confirmed that the hostage-taker was a British national.

A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Dr. Siddiqui鈥檚 release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911.

Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokeswoman Katie Chaumont said.

Saturday鈥檚 services were being livestreamed on the synagogue鈥檚 Facebook page for a time. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which didn鈥檛 show what was happening inside the synagogue.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the man said, 鈥淵ou got to do something. I don鈥檛 want to see this guy dead.鈥� Moments later, the feed cut out. A spokesperson for Meta Platforms Inc., the corporate successor to Facebook Inc., later confirmed that Facebook had removed the video.

Multiple people heard the hostage-taker refer to Dr. Siddiqui as his 鈥渟ister鈥� on the livestream. But John Floyd, board chair for the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations聽鈥� the nation鈥檚 largest Muslim advocacy group聽鈥� said Dr. Siddiqui鈥檚 brother, Mohammad Siddiqui, was not involved.

鈥淭his assailant has nothing to do with Dr. Aafia, her family, or the global campaign to get justice for Dr. Aafia. We want the assailant to know that his actions are wicked and directly undermine those of us who are seeking justice for Dr. Aafia,鈥� said Mr. Floyd, who also is legal counsel for Mohammad Siddiqui. 鈥淲e have confirmed that the family member being wrongly accused of this heinous act is not near the DFW Metro area.鈥�

Texas resident Victoria Francis told the AP that she watched about an hour of the livestream before it cut out. She said she heard the man rant against America and claim he had a bomb.

鈥淗e was just all over the map. He was pretty irritated and the more irritated he got, he鈥檇 make more threats, like 鈥業鈥檓 the guy with the bomb. If you make a mistake, this is all on you.鈥� And he鈥檇 laugh at that,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e was clearly in extreme distress.鈥�

Ms. Francis, who grew up near Colleyville, tuned in after she read about the hostage situation. She said it sounded like the man was talking to the police department on the phone, with the rabbi and another person trying to help with the negotiations.

Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth. The synagogue is nestled among large houses in a leafy residential neighborhood that includes several churches, a middle and elementary school and a horse farm.

By Sunday morning, the police perimeter around the synagogue had shrunk to half a block in either direction and FBI agents could be seen going in and out of the building. A sign saying 鈥淟ove鈥澛犫�� with the 鈥渙鈥� replaced with a Star of David聽鈥� was planted in a neighbor鈥檚 lawn.

Congregation Beth Israel is led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who has been there since 2006 as the synagogue鈥檚 first full-time rabbi. He has worked to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion and learning to the community, according to his biography on the temple鈥檚 website, and he loves welcoming everyone, including LGBT people, into the congregation.

In a Sunday morning post on what appears to be Mr. Cytron-Walker鈥檚 Facebook page, the rabbi thanked law enforcement and first-responders. 鈥淚 am grateful we made it out. I am grateful to be alive,鈥� he wrote.

Rabbi Andrew Marc Paley of Dallas, who was called to the scene to help families and hostages upon their release, said Mr. Cytron-Walker acted as a calm and comforting presence who was responsive to the instructions given to him. The first hostage was released shortly after 5 p.m. That was around the time food was delivered to those inside the synagogue, but Paley said he did not know if the food delivery was part of the negotiations.

鈥淗e appeared a little unfazed, actually, but I don鈥檛 know if that was sort of shock or just the moment,鈥� Mr. Paley said of the first hostage after his release. 鈥淗e was calm and grateful to law enforcement and Rabbi Charlie.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.