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The FBI is investigating the attack in Colleyville, Tex., as terrorism. Questions remain about how Akram was able to enter the United States and purchase a weapon.
The hostages, which included a rabbi and three congregants from Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth, escaped while Akram was confirmed dead after an 11-hour standoff with law enforcement. It remains unclear if Akram was killed by police or if he took his own life.
Akram repeatedly referenced Aafia Siddiqui — an American-educated Pakistani woman widely known as “Lady al-Qaeda,” who was convicted on terrorism charges in 2010 — and called for her release.
People who heard him on the live stream of services, which carried part of the ordeal, said Akram chose the synagogue because it appeared to be the closest gathering of Jews to a federal facility in Fort Worth where Siddiqui is being held on an 86-year sentence for trying to kill U.S. soldiers.
Akram, who is originally from Blackburn in the English county of Lancashire, grew up in a well-known family, his father the founder of a small mosque. He struggled with mental health issues, according to his brother, Gulbar Akram, who declined to elaborate further.
Britain’s Greater Manchester Police said Sunday that two teenagers were taken into custody for questioning by counterterrorism officers and that the department would assist U.S. officials with the inquiry, but declined to share further details.
Biden on Sunday said that the suspect was believed to have purchased the weapons when he landed “on the street," but cautioned that officials do not yet have “all the facts.”
“Allegedly, he purchased it on the street. Now what that means, I don’t know. Whether he purchased it from an individual in a homeless shelter or a homeless community... because that’s where he said he was — it’s hard to tell.”
Akram arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport on Dec. 29, officials have said. In a livestream of Saturday morning’s service, Akram said he had spent 16 hours somewhere in the synagogue’s area, “walking around with what I have in my bag, and with my ammo.” Law enforcement officials did not say what explosive devices they found but conducted evacuations in the area while officers disposed “of some ordinances on the scene.”
– Zapotosky reported from Washington. Hassan reported from London.
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