Kidnapping in Texas: Hostages escaped after rabbi threw chair at attacker

Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, where the kidnapping took place last Saturday. RALPH LAUER (EFE)

What began as an ordinary Saturday morning for the members of the Beth Israel congregation in the Colleyville synagogue, on the outskirts of Dallas-Forth Worth (Texas), turned into a nightmare in which dozens of members of the security forces and a special FBI team arrived from Quantico (Virginia) to rescue the four hostages that the British Malik Faisal Akram, 44, had held for almost 11 hours.

According to information from

newspaper , the Briton – who flew from the UK to the US – had a criminal record and an extensive history of mental health problems.

Despite the latter, Akram had no problem acquiring the weapon with which he stormed the synagogue on the

the day dedicated to worship and rest for the Jews.

One of Akram's hostages was synagogue rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who on Monday told different US media how, despite being "terrified", he believes he hastened the outcome by throwing a chair at the kidnapper, making Thus, it was possible for the hostages that were still in the hands of the attacker to escape.

In the rabbi's opinion, as the hours passed, the kidnapper became increasingly upset and frustrated that he was not achieving his requirements: that they release a prisoner in a Texas jail with ties to Al Qaeda. "We were terrified," confessed the priest. “When I saw an opportunity, at a time when he didn't seem to be very attentive, I made sure that the two men who were still with me were ready to go. The exit was not far away. I told them to go away,” Cytron-Walker recounted, her voice thick with emotion. It was then that the rabbi made the decision to throw the chair. “The three of us then headed for the door, and the three of us were able to get out without a single shot being fired,” the rabbi said.

Before the final denouement, the hijacker had allowed the release of one of the hostages after several hours of negotiations. What remains unknown are specific details of the operation, in which there was an explosion and various bursts of fire. The kidnapper lost his life, although the details of his death are not known.

A CNN story explains how the rabbi was the one who let the kidnapper in and offered him a cup of hot tea to relieve himself from the cold morning outside. The religious service was being offered through Facebook due to the rigors of the pandemic and the synagogue had a very small number of parishioners. When the assault began, the first orders and expressions of the attacker could be heard, but the connection was abruptly closed as soon as it was known that a high-risk situation existed.

All the work that the rabbi did during the more than ten hours of confinement was devoted to reassuring the attacker, a man who seemed out of touch with reality, to convince him to let the hostages go. Akram babbled and screamed about freeing a woman he called his "sister" because of her religious but not blood ties. The attacker was referring to Aafia Siddiqui, a Texas woman serving an 86-year prison sentence for trying to kill US soldiers and agents while she was detained in Afghanistan.

The rabbi explained that he had training in dealing with such an attack, so he was aware that the most important thing was to remain calm while the suspect continued with diatribes and the FBI began negotiations over the phone. On the outskirts of the synagogue, dozens of security members were armed to the teeth to be prepared for a possible break-in in the center.

Another of the hostages, the vice president of the synagogue, Jeffrey Cohen, stressed that their training and preparation to face extreme situations was also key when it came to implementing strategies that ended up saving their lives.

But the hours passed and Akram did not achieve what he wanted, so his violence seemed to increase and his volatility as well.

“He could turn violent” at any time, the rabbi explained, before deciding to take action.

The vice president of the synagogue has written in a Facebook message that he and the hostages “escaped”.

Cohen denies that they were "freed" by the massive deployment of law enforcement outside.

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