All hostages being held at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, have been safely released more than ten hours after a man disrupted a religious service and began a tense stand-off with police.
Police responded to a hostage situation after reports a man with a gun was holding people captive at the synagogue.
Police said they were alerted to an emergency Saturday morning at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, some 40 kilometres west of Dallas, with reports circulating quickly that it was a hostage situation. ABC initially said the man claimed to be Siddiqui's brother, but then later clarified her brother is in Houston. Other experts said the word the man used in Arabic was more figurative and meant "sister" in the Islamic faith.
Colleyville police said in a tweet at 11:30am that it was "conducting SWAT operations" at the address of the Congregation Beth Israel. Police outside the Beth Israel Congregation Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, United States on January 15, 2022.Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel was monitoring the situation and praying for the hostages' safety.