By Associated Press - Saturday, January 15, 2022

COLLEYVILLE, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that all hostages are safe after Saturday’s standoff inside a Dallas-area synagogue.

“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Abbott tweeted Saturday night.

Abbott’s tweet came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue. Details of the rescue were not immediately clear.

A man took hostages Saturday during services at a Texas synagogue where he could be heard ranting in a livestream and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.

The Colleyville Police Department said one hostage was released uninjured shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. 

Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.

Colleyville, a community of about 26,000 people, is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth. 

 

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