(Colleyville, Wash.) US law enforcement had been conducting “tense” negotiations for several hours on Saturday with a man who took several people hostage at a synagogue in a small town in Texas, United States.
Posted at 3:42 p.m.
Updated at 5:40 p.m.
US President Joe Biden, who is in his stronghold of Wilmington, Delaware, for the weekend, has been “briefed about the ongoing hostage situation”, his spokeswoman Jen said on Twitter. Psaki. “He will continue to receive updated information” and members of his national security team “are in contact with the leadership of federal law enforcement”.
PHOTO SHELBY TAUBER, REUTERS
An armored truck is ready to assist the police intervention.
ABC News, citing a source on site, reported that the suspect was armed, holding four people hostage, including a rabbi, and claimed to have planted bombs at unknown locations.
Police said late in the morning that an intervention force operation was underway at an address corresponding to the synagogue of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, near Dallas.
The voice of an agitated man at times could be heard on the live broadcast of the religious service on Facebook, consulted by AFP before its interruption.
“There is something wrong with America”, notably launched this man.
PHOTO ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/FBI
Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison for attempting to shoot US soldiers while detained in Afghanistan.
“I’m going to die,” he also said, repeatedly asking an unidentified caller for his sister to be on the phone.
The suspect, according to ABC News, claims to be the brother of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 by a New York federal court to 86 years in prison for attempting to shoot US service members while in custody. Afghanistan. He is calling for his release, the channel reported, citing an official familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity.
According to the same source, she is incarcerated at the Carswell military base, also not far from Dallas.
Reinforced patrols
The live broadcast, cut off at 1:50 p.m. (2:50 p.m. ET), showed only a lectern, with those inside the synagogue standing out of frame.
“The negotiators have contacted this person and are working towards a safe outcome,” Colleyville Police Sgt. Dara Nelson told the newspaper of the alleged hostage taker. The Dallas Morning News.
PHOTO JESSIKA HARKAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colleyville police said they are evacuating nearby residents, and asked the public to avoid the area.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson told him he had “deployed additional patrols to synagogues and other sites” in the area.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott described a “tense” situation, while Republican state senator Ted Crus said he was “monitoring the situation closely” and praying for the hostages and response forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also said he was monitoring the situation. Its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yair Lapid, specified that the Israeli consul of Houston, Livia Link, went there.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters held hostage in a synagogue in Texas,” he tweeted in Hebrew.
Asked by AFP, the local authorities did not immediately respond.