SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Man holds synagogue attendees hostage in Texas

Authorities in Colleyville, a city in northeastern Texas, are negotiating with a man who has reportedly taken people hostage at a synagogue during Saturday services, US media reported.

Colleyville police said on Twitter they were conducting SWAT operations. Residents in the area were being evacuated, police said.
Around two hours after police first reported the incident, they said the situation was still ongoing.

A police officer was quoted as saying by the daily Dallas Morning News that it was unclear how many people are inside the building or whether anyone was armed.

The Dallas Morning News reported, citing police, that negotiators have made contact with somebody inside the synagogue who “they believe is a suspect.”

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper said the service at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue was being live-streamed on Facebook but the video was taken down. It said “muffled audio of what sounded like negotiations with police” could be heard.

Reuters news agency said the livestream cut off at around 2000 UTC.

There were no immediate reports of injuries inside the building.