Armed man holding hostages at Colleyville, Texas, synagogue demands release of convicted terrorist ‘sister’

An armed man holding a rabbi and congregants hostage at a Texas synagogue is demanding that US authorities release his convicted terrorist sister, according to reports.

Muhammad Siddiqui is claiming to be the brother of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in Manhattan federal court in 2010 of trying to kill US authorities in Afghanistan. She is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in nearby Fort-Worth, according to public records.

The man told responders that “if anyone tries to enter this building, I’m telling you … everyone will die,” the Daily Mail reported.

Colleyville police secure the area around Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 in Colleyville, Texas. Authorities say a man has apparently taken hostages at the synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas. The Colleyville Police Department tweeted Saturday afternoon that it was conducting SWAT operations at the address of Congregation Beth Israel — Colleyville, Texas, police secure the area around Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Jan. 15, 2022.

Police secure the area around Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 in Colleyville, Texas. Authorities say a man has apparently taken hostages at the synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas. The Colleyville Police Department tweeted Saturday afternoon that it was conducting SWAT operations at the address of Congregation Beth Israel. — Authorities say a man has taken hostages at the synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas.

Emergency responders are seen near a synagogue where a man has reportedly taken people hostage at a synagogue during services that were being streamed live, in Colleyville, Texas, U.S. January 15, 2022. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber — Muhammad Siddiqui is demanding the release of his sister Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted in 2010 of trying to kill US authorities in Afghanistan.

Aafia Siddiqui was convicted in 2010 of trying to kill US authorities in Afghanistan.

Police in Colleyville, a community near Dallas-Fort Worth, dispatched a SWAT team to the residential neighborhood surrounding the temple. They warned residents to stay away from the immediate area of the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue where Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and some of his congregants are being held hostage, according to social media and a Twitter posting by Colleyville police.

Commenters on a Facebook livestream of a service at the synagogue say a man there is holding people hostage, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A Texas state trooper blocks traffic on a road leading to a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue where a man apparently took hostages, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. — A Texas state trooper blocks traffic on a road leading to the synagogue.

A gunman held hostages at Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. — Colleyville is a community near Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

An angry man can be heard ranting about religion on the ongoing livestream, the newspaper reported. However, the video does not show what is taking place in the temple, and it is unclear how many people are in the synagogue, the newspaper reported.

On social media, many were offering prayers for Cytron-Walker, leader of the Reform Jewish congregation that was established in 1999, according to its Facebook page.

Per: NYP