The man who held four people hostage at a Texas synagogue was identified by US authorities as a British citizen Sunday while UK police later arrested two teens over an attack that President Joe Biden called an “act of terror.”
The captor, who died in the 10-hour siege in the small town of Colleyville on Saturday, was named by the FBI as 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram.
Hours later, Britain’s counter terrorism police arrested two people and were questioning them in connection with the incident.
“Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester this evening. They remain in custody,” the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.
The FBI’s field office in Dallas had earlier said there was “no indication” that anyone else was involved in the attack on the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.
The four hostages — including a respected local rabbi, Charlie Cytron- Walker — were all freed unharmed Saturday night, prompting relief in the United States, where the Jewish community and Biden renewed calls to fight anti-Semitism.
“There is no question that this was a traumatic experience,” Cytron-Walker said in a statement Sunday.
