Two survivors of the hostage situation at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Texas credited their active shooter training for saving their lives.
Jeffrey Cohen, one of the four people taken hostage by Malik Faisal Akram during Sabbath prayer service on Saturday, said this training enabled them to take responsibility for their own survival.
“First of all, we escaped,” Cohen wrote on Facebook. “We weren’t released or freed. We escaped because we had training from the Secure Community Network on what to do in the event of an active shooter. This training saved our lives — I am not speaking in hyperbole here — it saved our lives.”
‘IT WAS OVERWHELMING’: RABBI DESCRIBES EXPERIENCE AFTER TEXAS SYNAGOGUE STANDOFF
When Akram drew a weapon and began threatening the congregants, Cohen said he knew keeping an open path to the exits was crucial. When they were told to move to the back of the space, he “moved as commanded. But not exactly as commanded. Instead of going to the back of the room, I stayed in line with one of the exits.”
He casually gathered the other hostages within 20 feet of the doors throughout the 11-hour ordeal, which “proved critical for our escape,” Cohen said. Cohen also said he knew to “never raise my voice or [make] a quick move” and keep Akram engaged with questions that could prove useful for the FBI.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker also credited Secure Community Network training with their survival. When he saw the opportunity, he threw a chair at Akram, and the entire party was able to run out the doors to safety.
“In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening,” the rabbi said Sunday in a statement. “Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself.”
“Those courses, that instruction, helped me to understand that you need to act in moments where your life is threatened,” Cytron-Walker added. “I would not have had the courage. I would not have had the know-how or what to do without that instruction.”
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The Secure Community Network “is the official homeland security and safety initiative of the organized Jewish community in North America,” according to its website, and its “mission is “to ensure the safety, security and resiliency of the Jewish community.” The network did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
The Congregation Beth Israel also had security training from the local police, FBI, and the Anti-Defamation League.
Akram was killed by law enforcement after the hostages escaped. He was a British national demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a convicted Pakistani terrorist.
