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Special police units on duty in front of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Conneyville, Texas
Photo: ANDY JACOBSOHN / AFP
A man apparently assaulted several people in a synagogue in the US state of Texas on Saturday.
Police special forces were deployed in the small town of Colleyville, about 40 kilometers west of Dallas.
The White House said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation on the ground.
The perpetrator is reportedly demanding the release of his sister, who has been convicted of terrorism charges.
Local police urged residents to avoid the area around the synagogue.
Officials from the US federal police FBI were also on site, as could be seen on footage from the broadcaster CNN.
ABC News reported that the suspect had taken the rabbi and three other people hostage.
The perpetrator was armed and said he had planted bombs in several places.
Hostage-taker demands release of Pakistani scientist
According to ABC, the man claims he is the brother of Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui, who was sentenced to 86 years in prison in the United States in 2010 on terrorism charges.
The case had caused outrage in Pakistan.
According to the ABC report, the alleged hostage-taker is demanding the release of his sister.
In a live broadcast of the congregation's morning prayers, which was streamed to Facebook, a man's voice could be heard asking to call his sister.
He was also heard saying, "I'm going to die" and "There's something wrong with America."
According to information from the "Dallas Morning News", the police negotiated with the hostage-taker.
It was unclear how many people were in the building, the newspaper reported, citing the police.
Accordingly, there was no evidence of injuries in the synagogue.
atb/Reuters/AFP