United States: taking hostages in progress in a Texas synagogue

The police forces of the small town of Colleyville, near Dallas, negotiate with a man who claims to have placed bombs at unknown pitches, and who would ask for the liberation of his sister, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 at 86 years in prison.

Le Monde with AFP

Negotiations have been lasting for several hours. A police operation is under way, Saturday, January 15, for a hostage taking in a TEXAS synagogue in the United States. The ABC News channel, which quotes a source on the spot, reported that the suspect was armed, held four people in hostages, including a rabbi, and claimed to have placed bombs at unknown locations.

The President of the United States Joe Biden was informed about this catch of hostages, said the spokesman for the White House, Jen Psaki. “It will continue to receive updated information from his team,” she tweeted.

The Colleyville police, near Dallas, indicated at the end of the morning that an operation of the intervention forces was underway at an address corresponding to the synagogue of the Congregation Beth Israel. The voice of a stirred man at times could be heard on the retransmission of the religious office live on Facebook. “There is something wrong with America,” said the man, as well as “I’m going to die”. He also asked several times to an unidentified interlocutor that his sister passed to him on the phone.

“Get a sure outflow”

The suspect, according to ABC News, says to be Aafia Siddiqui’s brother, a Pakistani scientist sentenced in 2010 by a federal court of New York at 86 years in prison for trying to shoot American soldiers while was detained in Afghanistan. He claims his release, the chain reported, citing a manager close to the record under anonymity. According to the same source, it is incarcerated at the Carswell military base, also not far from Dallas.

“Negotiators have made contact with this person and work to obtain a secure settlement,” said about the presumed hiking taker the Sergeant Dara Nelson, the Colleyville police, the newspaper The Dallas Morning News . The Colleyville police said the evacuation of the surroundings, and asked the public to avoid the area.

We are Currently Conduct Swat Operations Around The 6100 Block of Pleasant Run Rd. All Residents in The Immediate … https://t.co/q8tzkzfjqo

– Colleyvillepd (@colleyville police)

The Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the Israeli consul of Houston, Livia Link, went to the spot. “Our thoughts and prayers go to our hostage brothers and sisters in a textus synagogue,” he tweeted in Hebrew.

/Media reports.