A Texas governor says all detainees are safe after being suspended from a synagogue
The Texas governor said all those arrested in a synagogue near Dallas were released unharmed following a long-running suspension involving the FBI and local police.
Discussors of the FBI and local security forces were detained for several hours over what Governor Greg Abbot described as “difficult” at Beth Israel Church in Colleyville, a town 25 miles away.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
At least four detainees, including a rabbi of the synagogue, Charlie Cytron-Walker, were detained, according to local police and journalists. One young man who was arrested was released unharmed shortly after 5pm.
Local journalists also reported the noise and gunfire that erupted long before Abbott announced that the detainees had been successfully released.
Colleyville police confirmed that the SWAT crisis had been “resolved” and that all detainees were safe.
“Prayers were answered,” Abbott said he wrote on Twitter.
Suspected captured and killed, Colleyville police chief Michael Miller told reporters. Authorities did not release the suspect or confirm whether he was armed or killed. Earlier on Sunday, Colleyville police said the FBI had lost “customs” at the scene.
Matthew DeSarno, a special FBI agent, assisted the suspects “focused on a single non-Jewish issue” but did not elaborate, citing ongoing investigations.
The Associated Press and local media also reported that the suspect could be heard on television demanding the release of a woman named Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani psychologist suspected of having an affair with al-Qaeda.
Siddiqui has been charged with plotting to assassinate US troops while in custody in Afghanistan, and is currently serving an 86-year sentence in a federal prison in Texas.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “grateful for the tireless work of the law enforcement agencies in all the states who worked unitedly and fearlessly to rescue the captives.
“But let me make it clear to anyone who wants to spread hatred – we will fight anti-Semitism and the rise of terrorism in this country,” he said.
Naphtali Bennett, Israel’s prime minister, wrote earlier Twitter that he “kept an eye on” the situation at the synagogue in Texas, adding: “We pray for the protection of the captives and rescuers.”
Many US officials added security to Jewish shrines after the anti-Semitic mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2018. One gunman killed 11 people and wounded 6 others in the attack.
Dallas mayor Eric Johnson said the city’s police department had sent extra police officers to local synagogues “as security”.
“Police are working with the Jewish Federation and local partners, the state, and the state to manage any problems or threats in the Colleyville situation,” he said.
“This is a sad reminder that the synagogues in America continue to be under threat from terrorists,” Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, a human rights group, said in a statement. “Although the detainees have been rescued, we urge them to remain vigilant in defending the synagogues and all Jewish institutions. . . to ensure the security and protection of the Jews. ”
