The man demanded the release of a Pakistani woman convicted of terrorism. The facts took place in Colleyville, a city located between Dallas and Fort Worth.
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Four hostages held in a synagogue in Colleyville (Texas, United States) were released safe and sound on the night of Saturday January 15 to Sunday January 16. The kidnapper was killed during the assault by the police. “The hostage rescue team stormed the synagogue” and “the suspect is dead”, said the local police chief during a press conference, at the end of a crisis that lasted nearly ten hours.
The hostage taker demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 by a federal court in New York to 86 years in prison for having tried to shoot American soldiers while she was detained in Afghanistan. Aafia Siddiqui, currently detained in a hospital-prison in Fort Worth (Texas), not far from Colleyville, “is absolutely not involved” in the hostage-taking, his lawyer told CNN (article in English).
The FBI, the American federal police, has opened an investigation into the kidnapper, who has been identified, said FBI special agent Matt DeSarno, without however revealing the name of the hostage taker who was killed.
This incident deeply affected the Jewish community in the United States. Synagogue worshiper Ellen Smith described to CNN a situation “shocking and horrifyingShe said, however, that she was not surprised that the assault targeted the Jewish community. “Cases of anti-Semitism have increased in recent times”, she confided. “No one should be afraid to gather in his place of prayer”, said the Council on Jewish Community Relations, an organization based in San Francisco.