On Saturday, the rabbi and three other individuals were held at the synagogue in the town of Colleyville, which lies between Dallas and Fort Worth. The hostage-taker started his action during a service broadcast live on Facebook, but was subsequently cut short. The video has since been removed from Facebook.
According to US media, the hostage-taker wanted to get his “sister” Aafia, a convicted terrorist nicknamed Lady Qaeda, to be released. According to the media, the perpetrator said he is her brother Muhammad Siddiqui.
Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison by a US judge in 2010 for attempting to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan. Her nickname refers to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
The rabbi and several others were held hostage in the Colleyville near Dallas hostage situation.