A rabbi who was among four people held hostage at a Texas synagogue said on January 16 that the British man who held them captive became “increasingly belligerent and threatening” toward the end of the 10-hour standoff.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Congregation Beth Israel, near Fort Worth, credited security training that his congregation has received over the years for helping him and the other hostages get through the situation. He said in a statement that without that instruction, “we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself”.
Authorities on Sunday identified the hostage-taker as a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram. He was killed after the last three hostages ran from the building and an FBI SWAT team stormed it at around 9 p.m. on January 15. Authorities haven’t said whether Akram was killed by a member of the team.
The FBI said there was no indication that anyone else was involved, but it didn’t provide a possible motive.
