The case of Colleyville, Texas, where a man had barricaded himself in the synagogue along with four hostages, ended after more than 10 hours and with the deployment of 200 officers. The police raided and killed the kidnapper.
He had entered the building while the Saturday ceremony was taking place live on Facebook. To the 4 people present - including the rabbi - he said he was armed and had bombs in his backpack. He screamed and uttered anti-Semitic phrases, continually specifying that he was not a criminal. He immediately asked for the release of "Lady al Qaeda", the nickname by which Aafia Siddiqui is known, a Pakistani neuroscientist who is serving 86 years in prison on charges of trying to kill American soldiers and FBI agents. He passed himself off as his brother and some American media initially identified him as Muhammad Siddiqui. But a lawyer of the latter and the Siddiqui family have flatly denied, strongly condemning the insane gesture. "He was irritated, and the more his irritation grew the more threats like 'I have a bomb' grew. Then he laughed," said a witness who was following the live broadcast before it was suspended.
The kidnapper ordered one of the hostages to call a New York City rabbi to ask to exploit his ties and help Siddiqui free. The negotiations between the man and the negotiators went on for hours, and a first hostage was released. In the evening, around 9.30pm local time and after an explosion and gunshots in the synagogue, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted: "The prayers have been answered. All the hostages are free and well."
The perpetrator, who was killed, has been identified but "we are not yet ready to share his information," authorities said.
(Unioneonline / ss)
