An 11-hour standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, ended late at night on Saturday, Jan. 15, with the rabbi and other hostages safe and the suspect dead, police said. The suspect had disrupted Shabbat-morning services as they were being livestreamed on Facebook, and held the rabbi and several congregants hostage until 9:30 p.m. local time, when the shul’s rabbi saw an avenue for escape and ushered everyone out safely.

The hostages included Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three congregants at Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb. More than 200 law enforcement officials were at the scene, and one hostage was released unharmed at about 5 p.m. local time. Once all the hostages were free, law enforcement entered the building, shots were fired, and the suspect was dead. It is unclear whether the suspect took his own life or was shot by police.

According to ABC, the suspect said he was connected to Aafia Siddiqui, a relative by marriage of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the chief architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Aafia Siddiqui is serving an 86-year sentence in the Fort Worth area for attempting to kill American military personnel after she was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 on suspicion of plotting attacks in New York. It has been suggested by the authorities that the suspect thought Jews might have connections in order to free Aafia Siddiqui.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism said that Jewish institutions take security seriously. A New York Times account on Monday, Jan. 17, pointed out that security instruction followed by the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel may have saved their lives. As a result of this recent security breach, Jewish organizations are encouraging synagogues to take steps to better secure their buildings and worshippers.

This is the latest in a string of attacks on synagogues in recent years. In October 2018, a shooter killed 11 people in a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest antisemitic incident in American history. In April 2019, a gunman killed one woman and injured others during a shooting at the Chabad of Poway that took place on the final day of Passover.

Photo caption: Imam Omar Suleiman hugs Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker after the rabbi’s escape from being held hostage at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Jan. 15.

Asra Kahn photo