FBI identifies hostage-taker in Colleyville standoff as 44-year-old British citizen

The FBI on Sunday identified the hostage-taker in the standoff at a Colleyville synagogue as Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen.

Akram — who could be heard speaking during a livestream that broadcast a portion of the 11-hour standoff — died Saturday night after a hostage rescue team breached the building. The four hostages were unharmed.

Authorities said Saturday that Akram was killed in a shooting but did not answer a question about whether he was shot by law enforcement or if the gunshot was self-inflicted. The man claimed to have explosives, according to statements he made on the livestreamed video. Authorities have said he had a gun.

“This was an act of terror,” President Joe Biden said Sunday. Biden said there were apparently no explosives, despite the threats, the Associated Press reported.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who was among those held at Congregation Beth Israel, said Sunday in a statement that he and his congregation had participated in security courses from the Colleyville Police Department, the FBI, the Anti-Defamation League and Secure Community Network.

It is that education that saved their lives, he said.

“I encourage all Jewish congregations, religious groups, schools, and others to participate in active-shooter and security courses,” he said. “In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening. Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself.”

Video recorded by a WFAA-TV photographer shows the hostages flee from a door, before a man carrying what appears to be a handgun and wearing a backpack briefly steps out of the door and returns inside. Law enforcement yell, “Come out front!” Within seconds, dozens of agents wearing tactical gear scramble around the building. Four gunshots are heard before a loud explosion, followed by more gunshots and agents shouting commands.

Hostages taken during livestreamed service

Police responded to Congregation Beth Israel, at 6100 Pleasant Run Road, about 10:40 a.m. Saturday when, authorities said, Akram took four hostages during a livestreamed morning service at the synagogue. He released one hostage about 5 p.m.

The explosion and gunshots were heard about 9:12 p.m. Saturday by reporters outside the synagogue.

Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller said about 200 law enforcement officers responded to the scene throughout the day.

“I’d like to think this is a success due to the partnerships that we have with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners. It’s been an incredible operation,” he said.

The North Tarrant Regional SWAT Team initially responded as officers evacuated residents from nearby homes and set up a perimeter. Control of the scene was then handed off to the FBI, including SWAT and elite teams whose sole mission is to negotiate and conduct hostage rescues.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno from the Dallas field office said the rescue “was a result of a long, long day of hard work by nearly 200 law enforcement officers from across this region.” A federal investigation will be conducted globally, with special focuses on Tel Aviv and London, he said.

The hostage-taker, he said, was “singularly focused on one issue” not related to Jewish community.

Before the Facebook livestream was taken offline about 2 p.m., an angry man could be heard ranting, at times talking about religion. The video did not show what was happening in the building.

The man repeatedly mentioned his sister and Islam and used profanities. He was heard asking for his “sister” to be released from prison.

“Once I have my sister here let me tell you, I will not take these four guys out,” he could be heard saying at one point. “I swear by Allah.”

Biden said the hostage-taker “insisted on the release of someone who’s been in prison for over 10 years,” referring to Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who attracted the attention of American law enforcement in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Top FBI and Justice Department described her as an “al-Qaida operative and facilitator” at a May 2004 news conference in which they warned of intelligence showing al-Qaida planned an attack in the coming months. For years supporters have called for the release of Siddiqui, a neuroscientist who is a MIT graduate.

She is being held at Federal Medical Center Carswell, a women’s prison in Fort Worth. She was convicted in 2010 on charges related to the attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan two years earlier.

In a statement, Marwa Elbially, attorney for Siddiqui, said: “On behalf of Dr. Aafia and her family, we are grateful that our prayers and the prayers of millions of others were answered, and all the hostages have been safely released. We strongly condemn any violence perpetrated in Dr. Aafia’s name.”

The hostage-taker said a few times he didn’t want anyone hurt, and he mentioned his children.

He also said repeatedly he believed he was going to die.

British counterterrorism officials are cooperating with U.S. law enforcement on the case, according to U.S. and U.K. officials. But the investigation into his motive, travel plans and potential communications with others on his plot is just beginning.

“There are many questions that we would want to know,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told McClatchy and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a briefing on Sunday. “What precisely was the motive; what was the planning involved; what were the communications with other individuals; what were the signs that this individual was in fact descending into a pathway to violence. The questions are many, and that is why it is so important that we continue to investigate what occurred yesterday and the individual involved.”

Greater Manchester Police announced Sunday evening that counter-terrorism officers had made two arrests in connection with the Colleyville standoff. Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester for questioning, according to an update shared on Twitter.

What we know about hostage-taker Malik Faisal Akram

Akram is originally from the Blackburn area of Lancashire, according to the Greater Manchester Police. Blackburn is about 30 miles north of Manchester.

Little is know about Akram and how he gained entry into the synagogue, but a rabbi with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, said in a statement on Saturday that they believe the hostage-taker was able to enter the synagogue by posing as a homeless man.

Biden said Akram spent his first night in the U.S. in a homeless shelter and allegedly purchased a gun on the streets.

“Now what that means, I don’t know,” Biden said. “Whether he purchased it from an individual in a homeless shelter or a homeless community, or whether — because that’s where he said he was — it’s hard to tell. I just don’t know.”

Central Synagogue in New York said in a message to its congregation that Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl was contacted by the hostage-taker, though she had no connection with him.

“Rabbi Buchdahl immediately contacted law enforcement and followed their directions,” according to the statement, signed by President Shonni J. Silverberg and Executive Director Marcia Caban.

The Blackburn Muslim Community shared a message on its Facebook page from a man they say is Akram’s brother, identified as Gulbar Akram, who said the family is “absolutely devastated” and cannot say much because there’s an ongoing FBI investigation.

“We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident,” the post reads. “Sitting in the incident room all last night at Greenbank (police station) until the early hours liaising with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc And although my brother was suffering from mental health issues we were confident that he would not harm the hostages.”

Akram’s brother maintained the hostages were “released from the fire exit and Not rescued.”

“A few minutes later a firefight has taken place and he was shot and killed,” the post reads. “... There was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender.”

The post continues, “We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Muslim to attack a Jew or for any Jew to attack a Muslim, Christian, Hindu vice versa etc etc.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2022 at 10:08 AM.

Eleanor Dearman

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

(817) 807-3200

Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She’s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years. Support my work with a digital subscription