Texas synagogue hostage suspect timeline: Malik Faisal Akram’s criminal record and when he entered US

U.S. and U.Ok. authorities have been sluggish to verify particulars on the timeline of when a British suspect accused of taking Jewish worshippers hostage at a Texas synagogue entered the nation undetected. 

The practically 11-hour-standoff at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas – about 15 miles northeast of Fort Value – ended Saturday evening with the 44-year-old gunman, Malik Faisal Akram, lifeless and all hostages protected. 

Experiences point out Akram had been staying at homeless shelters within the Dallas space the day earlier than after coming into the U.S. at New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport. 

Akram’s prison background, which reportedly dates again a minimum of 20 years and features a latest jail stint following a 2012 conviction on theft and harassment prices, has critics questioning how the person from Blackburn, England, didn’t journey any safety safeguards when getting into the U.S. 

Right here’s a glance into the timeline main as much as the phobia incident in Texas. 

MALIK FAISAL AKRAM: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TEXAS SYNAGOGUE HOSTAGE SUSPECT 

1996: 

The suspect’s brother, Gulbar Akram, informed The New York Occasions that Malik Faisal Akram was arrested at age 19 for wielding a baseball bat throughout a struggle together with his cousins and spent a six-month stint at a younger offenders’ institute. Gulbar Akram mentioned their dad and mom had emigrated to the U.Ok. from Pakistan within the Nineteen Sixties and raised six sons in Blackburn, England. 

September 2001: 

A uncommon judicial ban was issued towards Akram in September 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist assaults on U.S. soil, a British official confirmed to Fox Information. 

He was restricted from the Blackburn Magistrates’ Court docket in September 2001 on account of an outburst in a courtroom, U.Ok.’s The Telegraph reported.

Only a day after 4 planes had been hijacked and crashed by jihad pilots, Akram was accused of remarking to Lancashire court docket ushers, “You need to have been on the f— airplane,” in keeping with a letter written by Peter Wells, the deputy justice clerk, to the Lancashire magistrates’ committee. 

“This prompted an excessive amount of misery to a person who was merely doing his job and shouldn’t be subjected to your foul abuse,” Wells mentioned, describing how Akram had been a daily “menace,” hurling “threatening and abusive” language at employees for months, “even when he isn’t due earlier than the bench.”

So as “to guard the well being and security of employees,” Akram was informed he could possibly be held in contempt of court docket or face a effective if he entered the constructing “apart from when on account of seem in court docket to reply a summons or give up to bail or to make a fee in respect of any excellent monetary penalty.”

2012: 

Akram had a prison report, an official on the U.Ok.’s Justice Division confirmed to Fox Information Digital. His final brush with the legislation was in 2012 when he was convicted of theft and harassment. 

Throughout the time he was in jail for that conviction, Akram reportedly performed himself in an “excessive” method when attending the jail’s mosque, and one observer famous he was “obsessed” with Islam, in keeping with the British official.

TEXAS SYNAGOGUE HOSTAGE SUSPECT WAS BANNED FROM UK COURT OVER ‘THREATENING’ 9/11 OUTBURST: REPORT 

Jan. 2, 2022: 

The FBI Dallas Subject Workplace declined to verify to Fox Information Digital whether or not Akram had flown into New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport two weeks prior, which is what some shops have reported, citing unnamed sources or Akram’s brother. 

Akram arrived within the U.S. on a vacationer visa from Nice Britain, The Related Press reported, citing a U.S. official who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of the knowledge was not meant to be public.

It isn’t identified how Akram then traveled to Texas. 

Akram stayed at OurCalling homeless shelter in Dallas on Jan. 2, in keeping with Wayne Walker, CEO and pastor of OurCalling, which supplies companies to homeless folks. 

Walker mentioned he noticed Akram being dropped off by a person who hugged him and appeared to know him. That pastor mentioned he has since turned over images and video to the FBI, The Related Press reported. 

Jan. 6-13, 2022:

Akram stayed three nights between Jan. 6 and Jan. 13 at Union Gospel Mission Dallas, the homeless shelter’s CEO, Bruce Butler, informed CNN. In accordance with the shelter’s information, Akram left there for the final time on Jan. 13 — two days earlier than he took the hostages on the synagogue.

Jan. 15, 2022: 

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker mentioned Akram knocked on the glass door of the synagogue Saturday morning. The rabbi let Akram in and made him tea, pondering he wanted shelter. Cytron-Walker defined how he sat with the person after which throughout morning prayer, heard a click on, which turned out to be a gun.

Akram could possibly be heard ranting on a Fb livestream of the companies and demanding the discharge of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist identified in counterterrorism circles as “Woman Al-Qaeda,” who was convicted of attempting to kill U.S. Military officers in Afghanistan. She is imprisoned in close by Fort Value. U.S. Muslim teams just like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have been lobbying for her launch.

Cytron-Walker mentioned he drew from his previous hostage coaching with the FBI, native police, Anti-Defamation League and Safe Communities Community through the incident, deciding within the final hour to first ensure the opposite hostages had been able to run earlier than the rabbi immediately hurled a chair on the suspect.

Malik Faisal Akram’s brother, Gulbar Akram, launched a press release via the Blackburn Muslim Group detailing how he was known as right into a police station in Greenbank, the place he labored in an incident room with terrorism police liaising with the FBI and negotiators through the hostage incident.

In an interview with The New York Occasions, Gulbar Akram mentioned he spoke to his brother through the siege taking place some 5,000 miles away to speak him down. With out offering many particulars, Gulbar informed the newspaper his brother was identified to counterterrorism police. He additionally mentioned Faisal had psychological well being points, worsened after the latest loss of life of their different brother from the coronavirus.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted simply previous 9:30 p.m. native time that every one hostages had been protected. 

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Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller informed reporters at a press convention round 10:20 p.m. native time that the suspect was deceased. SWAT groups entered the constructing and the suspect died throughout a shootout, although authorities didn’t specify how.

Two youngsters have been arrested in Manchester, England, because the FBI has prolonged investigations to London and Tel Aviv to find out whether or not Akram acted alone or as half of a bigger terror cell. 

Fox Information’ Greg Palkot and The Related Press contributed to this report. 

Supply: Fox Information