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“This was an act of terror,” Joe Biden said as the FBI ended an hours-long hostage standoff in Texas.
The suspected armed gunman has been identified as Malik Faisal Akram.
The investigation is ongoing by the FBI, but 44-year-old Akram is suspected of being a radical and anti-Semitic Muslim who targeted a Jewish synagogue in Texas.
He entered the synagogue while armed with “backpacks of explosives.”
Akram demanded the release of convicted Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who is known as Lady Al Qaeda. Police say she is his sister.
His sister is a convicted felon and former courier and financier for Al-Qaeda.
She is serving an 86-year sentence because she stole a military-style M4 assault rifle from a U.S. Army officer and shot at Army and FBI personnel who were assigned to interrogate her.
Siddiqui was later convicted and sentenced in court in Manhattan.
After at least 10-hours, Akram was shot and killed by police and SWAT teams.
Video footage shows hostages fleeing from Akram as the standoff came to an end.
Watch the clip:
VIDEO from the operation to recover hostages taken in a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. 3 hostages seen running out, then the hostage taker, who quickly goes back inside. Shortly after, police storm the building and neutralize the suspect. pic.twitter.com/sLdmwJeVvY
— Doge (@IntelDoge) January 16, 2022
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“The FBI’s North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force (NTJTTF), which includes member agencies from across the region, will continue to follow investigative leads,” the statement continued. “An FBI Shooting Incident Review Team (SIRT) will conduct a thorough, factual, and objective investigation of the events.”
The FBI urged anyone with information related to the incident to submit it at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
President Biden told reporters in Philadelphia earlier Sunday that the suspect had been arrested 15 years ago and was jailed for 10 years. The president also remarked that the suspect landed in the U.S. and might have stayed at a homeless shelter. Biden said the suspect obtained the weapon used in the incident “on the street,” possibly within the homeless community, but he was still getting more information.
Biden vowed to make more information available during an upcoming press conference Wednesday.
“This was an act of terror,” Biden remarked, praising the FBI and vowing he would speak with the rabbi on how his administration can support houses of worship with “the antisemitism that’s ramping up.”
