All hostages ‘out alive and safe’ from Texas synagogue, subject dead

“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Abbott said in a tweet.

The subject, whom investigators believe was “singularly focused on one issue” that was “not specifically related to the Jewish community,” is now dead, an official said at the press conference. The subject’s identity will not be released as his motive continues to be investigated, officials said.

Earlier in the day, one male hostage was released uninjured, police confirmed. The identity of the man was not revealed, and he did not require medical attention, officials said.

Authorities had responded to the area, and the Colleyville Police Department tweeted it was evacuating the surrounding area after it was reported an armed man was holding a rabbi and at least three others hostage and demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence for the attempted murder of a U.S. soldier.

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The man was heard saying he was the brother of Siddiqui, but Muhammad Siddiqui, the biological brother of Aafia Siddiqui, is not the man holding the congregants hostage, his lawyer told the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The man could be heard yelling during a livestream of the service, which was reportedly in celebration of a bar mitzvah, on Facebook, Jessika Harkay, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, tweeted. The livestream is no longer shown on the synagogue’s Facebook page.

The police confirmed it was conducting SWAT operations at approximately 12:30 p.m. EST. Officials also confirmed that FBI crisis negotiators were brought to the scene to talk to the suspect, and there have been no injuries reported so far.

“We are currently conducting SWAT operations around the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Rd. All residents in the immediate area are being evacuated. Please avoid the area,” a statement read.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Saturday afternoon that President Joe Biden was monitoring the situation, that he was briefed, and that members of his national security team were in touch with local officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted that he was monitoring the situation in the synagogue and was praying for the hostages.

Sources told the Washington Examiner that Siddiqui, 49, was previously married to a nephew of al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. She is being held at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, which is about 25 miles away from the synagogue, according to public records.

There is an online movement advocating for Siddiqui’s release, with supporters professing her innocence. A Twitter account titled “Free Aafia Siddiqui” has over 11,000 followers. Supporters have also staged protests in the United States calling for her freedom, with CAIR planning an event in support of her release.

But CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell also issued a statement condemning the hostage situation, saying no cause can “justify or excuse this crime.”

“We strongly condemn the hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages,” Mitchell said.

Gary Zola, a professor at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, told the Washington Examiner that he had one of the hostages, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, as a student. He said Cytron-Walker was ordained in 2006.

“Rabbi Cytron-Walker was really and truly one of the kindest, most compassionate, decent, caring human beings,” he said. “It’s just a tragedy, and we’re all praying for him. We’re all full of hope that somehow the rescuers will find a way to bring Rabbi Cytron-Walker and these other hostages to freedom without any harm.”

Zola said that, unfortunately, the U.S. has seen an uptick in security concerns in synagogues.

“Many times, I would visit synagogues in Europe, and they would have policemen out front and gates you had to go through to enter. And I remember as a younger man, I used to say to myself, ‘Thank God I live in the United States of America where I don’t have to deal with this.’ The last five years, everything has changed,” he said.

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After Siddiqui was named as someone who provided assistance to al Qaeda, she became the “most wanted woman” in the world in 2004. She was arrested in July 2008 in Afghanistan, where she was found carrying plans for explosives for key U.S. landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, the Department of Justice said. She was convicted in February 2010 of attempting to murder U.S. nationals in Afghanistan and six additional charges, and she was handed a sentence of 86 years in prison that September.

Jerry Dunleavy and Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.