Texas, Jan 16: All four people who were held hostage during a service at a synagogue in Colleyville have been rescued, said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The hostage situation was resolved after 10 hours.
“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Abbot tweeted about 20 minutes after a loud bang was heard followed by a gunfire coming from the direction of the synagogue.
According to CNN, the synagogue was livestreaming their Sabbath morning service on Facebook on Saturday when the hostage situation began.
The hostages included a rabbi.
According to BBC, the live stream had also captured audio of a man saying: “You get my sister on the phone” and “I am gonna die”.
“There’s something wrong with America,” he further said.
The feed was later taken down.
It was further reported that the hostage taker was demanding the release of Aafia Siddique, a Pakistani woman who alleged had ties to the al-Qaeda terror group. She has been serving an 86-year sentence in a US federal prison for trying to kill US officers in Afghanistan.
However, the attorney representing Siddique has said “she has absolutely no involvement with” the taking of hostages at the synagogue and said the perpetrator is not Siddiqui’s brother.”
(UNI)
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