Colleyville TX Synagogue Hostage Situation

[Paul D]

Shameful.

FBI Makes Claims Motive of Man Taking Hostages at Synagogue Was 'Not Specifically Related to Jewish Community

That's stupid. It's one thing to take 4 hostages who happen to be Jewish at a Discount Tire store. It's another thing to take hostages in their house of worship. It's like that monster who killed those folks at that A.M.E. church in Charleston back in 2015. That was SPECIFICALLY related to the African-American community. I'll eat my words if that guy turns out to be a former member of that temple who had a beef with the rabbi. If he turns out to be another Jihad John, then it's back to "That's Stupid" mode.

[Jim Watson]

What hooks must the Mohammedans have in our supposed leaders that their hate for us is not recognized?

[HCM]

https://www.ksat.com/news/national/2...xas-synagogue/

Texas rabbi: Captor grew "belligerent" late in standoff

COLLEYVILLE, Texas – A rabbi who was among four people held hostage at a Texas synagogue said Sunday that their armed captor grew “increasingly belligerent and threatening” toward the end of the 10-hour standoff, which ended with an FBI SWAT team rushing into the building and the captor's death.
Authorities identified the hostage-taker as a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel around 9 p.m. The FBI said there was no indication that anyone else was involved but had not provided a possible motive.

The investigation stretched to England, where late Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not say whether the pair faced any charges.
Katie Chaumont, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Dallas, referred questions to police in Manchester.

In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker said in a statement. “Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself."

Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said Akram allegedly purchased a weapon on the streets.

Federal investigators believe Akram purchased the handgun used in the hostage taking in a private sale, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Akram arrived in the U.S. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York about two weeks ago, a law enforcement official said.
Video from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Moments later, several shots and then an explosion could be heard.

Akram arrived in the U.S. recently on a tourist visa from Great Britain, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not intended to be public. London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its counter-terrorism police were liaising with U.S. authorities about the incident

[Stephanie B]

With all of the stupid shit the Biden administration is doing, your Alex Jones commentary fails to impress. Maybe pick a better analogy. And, I hate Alex Jones...

Alex Jones. Sandy Hook. Need I say more?

As for "fails to impress", color me "uncaring".

[Hot Sauce]

This is from a Facebook page of a Ex-congregant by the name of Itamar Gelbman

In the world of "you can't make this stuff up"... This is my old synagogue, I left due to a few issues, first, the Rabbi called Israel an apartheid state against Islam, and a second, he didn't allow his members (including myself) to be armed during services. Now he is held hostage by a Muslim man with a gun...

https://fmarc.us/itamar-gelbman-2/ Here is more on the guy. It looks like that post is legit. He is a local politician, and also unsuccessfully ran for the US House of Representatives.

[TC215]

To me, the first shots sounded like shotgun breaching, then an NFDD, then gunfire to neutralize suspect.

My understanding is that they used an explosive breach.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I found this to be a totally useless article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...fenses/621280/

So worthless I can't bring myself to write an analysis. Is this what politically correct security experts sell?

[TGS]

I found this to be a totally useless article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...fenses/621280/

So worthless I can't bring myself to write an analysis. Is this what politically correct security experts sell?

I wouldn't mistake his message.

US diplomatic facilities took on a fortress like appearance for a period of time, which was very impactful (in a bad way) to the mission. I could see the same thing happening for places of worship.

You can integrate the same security measures in a way where they don't even look like security measures and maintain a beautiful, attractive property that adds to the mission of the facility......but that costs money. It takes creativity and one-off solutions that most companies are unable to provide. It's definitely a real consideration and not based in political correctness.

ETA:
Short reference reading: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/us...ign/index.html

[Glenn E. Meyer]

It wasn't the fortress aspect that bothered me. I should have been clearer. I guess I'm in have hammer and nail mode on this as I feel that discussions of institutional safety should include the option of trained members of the institution with firearms. Not to discuss it bothers me. I went through that at work as I thought our flee, hide, last ditch fight with improvised weapons were not up to the challenge.

But what if the essence of a place is that it is defenseless? What if its ability to welcome others, to be hospitable to strangers, is its identity? What if vulnerability is its unstated mission? That is the challenge I hadn’t considered. I tread carefully here speaking of a religion that I know only through marriage. I have strong feelings about Israel, not recently known for its peaceful stance toward its Arab residents. But in the U.S., for a Jewish congregation to become a fortress would seem too militaristic, too aggressive.

The standoff in Colleyville ended with the attacker dead and the hostages unharmed. But all around the country, synagogues are no doubt convening their security committees, wondering what more they can do to defend their members without losing their essential vulnerability. A synagogue is not like an airport or a stadium. When it becomes a fortress, something immeasurable is lost.

Being armed is not giving up the essential nature of welcome and different from fortress architecture. The author also has a history of being involved with Jewish traditions, which is all to the good. However, the discussion of Israel policy and what is appropriate for a Jewish congregation is quite inappropriate to me. I'll leave at that.

[Ed L]

Here is the response of two British comedians or comedic podcasters. It is hilarious. If nothing else fast forward to 18:20 where a Muslim parliament candidate gets upset that her opponent is suggesting that she isn't Muslim enough, so she gets in a car with a microphone and drives around town urging people not to vote for her opponent because he is a Jew.