Colleyville Beth Israel hostage situation: What we know from standoff to suspect

Four people were taken hostage at the Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville on Saturday by 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, and the standoff continued for almost 11 hours. After one hostage was released earlier in the day, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker threw a chair at Akram, allowing him, Jeffrey Cohen and a fellow congregant to escape. Shortly after their escape, Akram was fatally shot by the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team.

More: Inside the 11-hour hostage standoff at Colleyville Beth Israel

Who was Malik Faisal Akram?

The International News reported that Akram’s father migrated to Britain about 50 years ago and he and other relatives participated in local politics. A source told the newspaper that Akram was involved in demonstrations for the freedom of Palestine and protested for the release of Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

More: Labeled a ‘menace,’ Colleyville synagogue hostage-taker wished he died on a 9/11 plane

While holding Cytron-Walker and three other congregants hostage, Akram demanded that his “sister,” Aafia Siddiqui, be released from a Fort Worth prison. Cohen told the Star-Telegram that Akram said he had never spoken to Siddiqui before and realized Akram had meant his sister in Islam and not his blood-related sister.

Cohen also said Akram went on a tirade against Jewish people and thought the men in the synagogue could “call President Biden and he will do it. We can call President Trump and he will do it because Jews control everything.”

Faisal Akram’s brother Gulbar told the Lancashire Telegraph that he spoke with Faisal on the phone during the standoff and pleaded with him to “come home” to no avail.

Gulbar said his brother was mentally ill and he doesn’t believe he intended to hurt anyone, the Telegraph reported. “I tried to convince him and think about his (six) kids,” he said. “I told him ‘pack it in’…’pack it in’. His mind was made up. At no point did he say he would harm these people.”

The hostages said in the last hour of the standoff that Akram became more threatening.

“He was screaming, ‘I am going to put a bullet in each one of you,’” Cohen told the Star-Telegram. “At that point, he was looking toward me. I looked him right in the eyes. I stared at him. I made my face very strict. And I think I shook my head, or I mouthed ‘no.’”

Soon after that, the hostages seized their chance to escape.

More: ‘Stop this blind hatred.’ Colleyville hostage says gunman went on anti-Jewish rant

Who is Aafia Siddiqui?

Akram called Siddiqui, 49, his sister and demanded she be released from Federal Medical Center-Carswell prison in Fort Worth, but she is not blood-related to him.

Siddiqui, also know as “Lady al-Qaida,” was the first female terrorism defendant arrested after 9/11, convicted on charges related to the attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan in 2008. Her family has said she was falsely accused and used as a scapegoat in the “war on terror” after 9/11, but is also portrayed as a heroine and martyr in Pakistan.

More: Who is Aafia Siddiqui? ‘Lady al-Qaida,’ in Fort Worth prison, was arrested after 9/11

More: Pakistani woman whose conviction motivated hostage crisis spurns violence, lawyer says

Months before the hostage situation, the Pakistani government lodged a complaint against U.S. authorities after Siddiqui claimed she was assaulted by another inmate on July 30. Another woman reportedly smashed a coffee mug with scalding hot liquid into Siddiqui’s face.

More: Pakistan lodges complaint against U.S. over woman’s reported attack at Fort Worth prison

What happened to the four hostages?

All four of the hostages, who included Beth Israel Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, were released or escaped from Akram with no serious physical injuries.

Monday night, the interfaith community gathered at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake to show solidarity with the Beth Israel community. Cytron-Walker is known in the community for his work promoting peace and cooperation across faiths.

“Like any journey, we will take the next step. We will comfort each other. We will lean on each other. And we will understand that each of us will respond in our own way and we will have understanding ... even when we get on each other’s nerves,” Cytron-Walker said on Monday.

More: How the interfaith community is processing the Colleyville synagogue hostage standoff

More: Colleyville rabbi taken hostage is friend of Muslim community, local leaders say

Did Malik Faisal Akram have accomplices?

On Sunday, two teenagers, reportedly Akram’s sons, were arrested in England in connection with the hostage investigation by Greater Manchester Police.

Akram was in touch with the boys during the standoff, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. However, a spokesperson from the FBI office in Dallas said there was no indication anyone other than Akram was involved in the hostage situation.

On Tuesday, Greater Manchester Police issued a statement which said the two teenagers were released without charge.

Police also searched a location in north Manchester as part of their investigation but did not say what, if anything, they found.

More: British counterterrorism officers detain teens in Colleyville synagogue hostage case

Was Malik Faisal Akram homeless?

Akram arrived at JFK International Airport on Dec. 29. On Jan. 2 he stayed at OurCalling Resource Center in Dallas on South Cesar Chavez Boulevard and told people that he had been sleeping on the streets. Patrick Palmer, chief advancement officer at OurCalling, said they traced back Akram’s stay in the resource center’s records after learning he had also stayed at Union Gospel Mission in Dallas for a few days later in the month.

OurCalling shared its information with the FBI.

Akram showed up at OurCalling a little after 10 p.m. and was dropped off by a heavy-set man in a gray hoodie who wore a beanie, Palmer said. Akram left the next day.

Little else is known about where he spent his time in the two weeks he was in the United States.

After traveling from Manchester to New York in late December, ITV News reports Akram had made plans for a return trip with a flight booked back to the United Kingdom for Feb. 2.

More: ‘A personal space has been violated,’ Dallas shelter says after hostage-taker’s stay

Did Malik Faisal Akram have a criminal history?

According to a report by the BBC, Akram was on British security service MI5’s watchlist during an investigation in 2020 and was labeled a “subject of interest.” He was investigated in the second half of that year.

By 2021, Akram was moved to the “former subject of interest” list and was no longer seen as a threat, according to the BBC.

This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 2:37 PM.

Megan Cardona

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Megan Cardona was a service journalism reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram until 2023. Reach our news team at tips@star-telegram.com.