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| The US president said the attacker had apparently bought weapons after he landed in the US. Police continued their investigation at the scene of a hostage incident in Colleyville, Texas, on 16 January 2022. (Photo by=EPA) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Two teenagers have been arrested in England as part of the investigation into a hostage-taking incident at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday. BBC said that British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn, was shot dead after a standoff with police in Colleyville.
Details of the ages or genders of the pair arrested in south Manchester on Sunday evening were not revealed. Greater Manchester Police said it was liaising with local communities and continuing to assist in the US inquiry. The force said the two teenagers were arrested "as part of the ongoing investigation into the attack" and were being held in custody for questioning. According to US police sources, Akram arrived in the country via New York's JFK International Airport two weeks ago.
The siege began at around 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) when police were called to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the suburb of Dallas. All of the hostages at the synagogue were freed unharmed. Police sources say that no explosive material was found on Akram and US federal courts do not show he had any criminal history. Meanwhile, Akram's brother said he had liaised "with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc" during the siege but "there was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender".
