A hostage crisis in Dallas-Fort Worth ended with the man responsible dead, according to local and federal law enforcement.
A group of four people, including the rabbi, were taken hostage at about 10:41am on Saturday at Congregation Beth Israel in the city of Colleyville, about 30 miles northwest of Dallas.
The group of hostages were being held by a man demanding the release of a federal prisoner being held in North Texas who was convicted in 2010 of attempted murder in a terrorism-related case, officials said.
One of the hostages was released shortly after 5:00pm and FBI crisis negotiators continued to communicate with the man in the synagogue Saturday night.
Around 9:00pm the FBI’s hostage rescue team breached the synagogue and rescued the hostages, Colleyville Police Chief Michael C. Miller said.
Miller said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, is dead. Officials did not release how the man died.
The hostages, all of whom were adults, were not physically harmed and did not require medical attention, officials said.
“Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a tweet.
Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the FBI Dallas field office, said the hostage taker was thought to have been “singularly focused on one issue not specifically related to the Jewish community.”