FBI identifies Synagogue Hostageman as British National Malik Faisal Akram

The federal government on Sunday identified the gunman who was shot dead after taking four hostages at a Texas synagogue as Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a British national.

Hours before the announcement, a spokesman for the British Foreign Office said it was “aware of the death of a British man in Texas and is in contact with local authorities.”

The hostage-taker was heard on a provocative live stream in front of four hostages and demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted and jailed for attempting to kill US military officers in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden called the incident “an act of terrorism”.

The four hostages were finally released after an 11-hour standoff, which ended when an FBI SWAT team entered the Beth Israel Church in Colleyville and apparently killed the gunman.