The British Muslim crossed the country, likely by internal flight, next appearing at a Texan Christian charity asking for a bed for the night, reports Asian Lite News
The Blackburn terrorist shot dead after having laid siege to a Texas synagogue had spent the week before the attack at a Christian homeless shelter and bought his gun ‘off the street’ nearby, the Daily Mail reported.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Lancashire, UK, staged a 10-hour attack near Dallas on Saturday and held a Rabbi and three others hostage while demanding the release of a convicted terrorist known as ‘Lady Al Qaeda’ so they could die together.
Akram is understood to have landed in New York on January 2, most likely on a flight from Manchester, and was granted legal entry into the US, despite having a criminal record.
The address he gave on his arrival papers appears to be the same as the Queens Hotel in New York City, which offers basic accommodation for $80-a-night, the report said.
Although Akram said in the entry documents that he would be staying there, it is unclear if he actually did, with a receptionist at the hotel unable to say whether this was the case, the New York Times reported. The receptionist said that FBI agents had reviewed the hotel’s CCTV footage, but found nothing useful.
The British Muslim crossed the country, likely by internal flight, next appearing at a Texan Christian charity asking for a bed for the night.
He stayed at the Union Gospel Mission in Dallas in the week before the terror attack, and was able to purchase a handgun ‘off the street’, according to US President Joe Biden.
It has also come to light that Akram had spent time in area homeless shelters in the two weeks leading up to the attack, and was dropped off at one by someone he appeared to know.
Akram was brought to the shelter in downtown Dallas on Jan. 2 by a man who hugged him and had conversations with him, said Wayne Walker, CEO and pastor of OurCalling, which provides services to homeless people.
He was dropped off by somebody that looked like he had a relationship with him, said Walker, who said they’d turned photos and video over to the FBI.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings that he’d let Akram into Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday morning because he appeared to need shelter. The synagogue is in Colleyville, a city of about 26,000 people located 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
Cytron-Walker said the man wasn’t threatening or suspicious at first, but later he heard a gun click as he was praying.
The rabbi and three other men were participating in the service that was being livestreamed when they were taken hostage. The first hostage was released shortly before 5 p.m. Cytron-Walker and two others escaped around 9 p.m., when Cytron-Walker threw a chair at the gunman.
The exit wasn’t too far away, Cytron-Walker said. I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door. And all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired.
Akram was killed after the hostages ran out. Authorities have declined to say who shot Akram, saying it was still under investigation.
Video of the standoff’s end from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Moments later, several shots and then an explosion could be heard.
The FBI on Sunday night issued a statement calling the ordeal a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted” and said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating. The agency noted that Akram spoke repeatedly during negotiations about a prisoner who is serving an 86-year sentence in the U.S. The statement followed comments Saturday from the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office that the hostage-taker was focused on an issue not specifically related to the Jewish community.
Akram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.
The last hour or so of the standoff, he wasn’t getting what he wanted. It didn’t look good. It didn’t sound good. We were terrified,” Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings.
At a service held Monday evening at a nearby Methodist church, Cytron-Walker said the amount of well-wishes and kindness and compassion has been overwhelming.
Thank you for all of the compassion, from the bottom of my heart, Cytron-Walker said.
While very few of us are doing OK right now, we’ll get through this, he said.
The investigation stretched to England, where late Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not say whether the pair faced any charges.
President Joe Biden called the episode an act of terror. Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said Akram allegedly purchased a weapon on the streets.
Federal investigators believe Akram purchased the handgun used in the hostage-taking in a private sale, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Akram arrived in the U.S. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York about two weeks ago, a law enforcement official said.