(Colleyville) American law enforcement officials were conducting “tense” negotiations on Saturday evening with a man who took several people hostage in a synagogue in Colleyville, a city in Texas in the United States, saying he was the “brother” of a Pakistani woman sentenced for terrorism.
Posted at 3:42 p.m.
Updated at 8:55 p.m.
One of the hostages was freed unharmed around 5 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Saturday, local police said. “This man will be reunited with his family as soon as possible and does not require medical attention,” she said in a statement.
US President Joe Biden, who is spending the weekend in his stronghold of Wilmington, Delaware, “will continue to receive updated information” and members of his national security team “are in contact with the leadership of the federal law enforcement,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
PHOTO SHELBY TAUBER, REUTERS
An armored truck is ready to assist the police intervention.
On Twitter, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the situation “tense”.
ABC News, citing a source on site, reported before the release of a first hostage in the afternoon that the suspect was armed, was holding four people including a rabbi, and claimed to have planted bombs at unknown locations. .
The hostage-taking occurred at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, a town of about 23,000 people on the outskirts of Dallas.
” I will die ”
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.
“I’m going to die,” he also said, repeatedly asking an unidentified caller that “his sister” be on the phone to him.
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.
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.
According to the same source, she is incarcerated at the Carswell military base, not far from Dallas.
Experts, however, pointed out that the word used by the man in Arabic was figurative and meant “sister” in the Islamic faith.
Reinforced patrols
The live broadcast, cut off at 1:50 p.m. (7:50 p.m. GMT), 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 Dallas Morning News of the hostage taker.
PHOTO JESSIKA HARKAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colleyville police said they were 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.
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.
“No one should be afraid to gather in their place of worship,” the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council said, calling for a “quick and safe outcome.”
“He who hates me today will hate you tomorrow. So it may start with the Jews, but it won’t stop with the Jews,” warned Joseph Potasnik, vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis.