SYNAGOGUE HOSTAGE-TAKER HAD MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, BROTHER SAYS
Malik Faisal Akram, the man who caused a dramatic 10-hour standoff Saturday at a Texas synagogue last weekend, had mental health issues, according to his brother.
The 44-year-old British national held four people captive at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.
Akram wanted Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to be brought to the synagogue so that both could go to heaven together.
President Joe Biden called the siege “an act of terror.”
Biden added that Akram “allegedly” bought the gun “on the street.”
CNN said Akram had spent only five weeks in the U.S. and slept three days in a homeless shelter.
On Sunday morning, the Blackburn Muslim Community in UK shared a statement from Akram’s brother, Gulbar Akram, who said his sibling suffered from “mental health issues.”
Gulbar said his family worked with the FBI to convince his brother to release the hostages unharmed.
Several Muslim leaders and mosques promptly issued statements of solidarity with the hostages and condemned the attacker.
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