President Biden hailed law enforcement and sent “love and strength” to the Jewish community in Colleyville, Texas, late Saturday after an elite team rescued four people who were taken hostage in a synagogue.
Authorities said the hostage-taker, who stormed into the live-streamed service Congregation Beth Israel, was dead after the 11-hour standoff. He was identified as Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British national.
“There is more we will learn in the days ahead about the motivations of the hostage-taker. But let me be clear to anyone who intends to spread hate — we will stand against anti-Semitism and against the rise of extremism in this country,” Mr. Biden said in a written statement. “That is who we are, and tonight, the men and women of law enforcement made us all proud.”
He praised the work of law enforcement “at all levels who acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages.”
Authorities have identified the suspect but did not disclose his name as they investigate his motives.
CNN reports the man might have been motivated by Aafia Siddiqui, a woman serving an 86-year sentence in a Texas facility after being convicted in 2010 of attempted murder and armed assault on U.S. officers in Afghanistan.
An attorney for Siddiqui told CNN she has “absolutely no involvement with” the hostage situation.
Mr. Biden, speaking in Philadelphia on Sunday, said he spoke to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the attack.
“He said it was overwhelming cooperation with the local authorities and FBI and they did one hell of a job. This was an act of terror,” Mr. Biden said before packing boxes of food with first lady Jill Biden at Philabundance, a hunger-relief organization, as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Mr. Biden said he also wants to know more about why the attacker singled out the Texas synagogue and how the man, described as a British national, was able to get weapons after landing in the U.S.
Mr. Biden said he plans to call the rabbi in and let him and the rest of America know that attacks on synagogues and places of worship will not be tolerated.
Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement early Sunday.
“We stand in solidarity with the Congregation Beth Israel community and the entire Jewish community,” Ms. Harris said. “While we will learn more about the hostage taker’s motivation, we know this: what happened yesterday at Congregation Beth Israel is a reminder that we must speak up and combat anti-Semitism and hate wherever it exists. Everyone has a right to pray, work, study, and spend time with loved ones not as the other — but as us.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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