NYPD Deploys Additional Police After Hostage at Texas Synagogue Calls NYC Rabbi – NBC New York (47)

The New York City Police Department deployed more officers to synagogues around the city as a precaution after a Texas synagogue hostage call a city rabbi to relay the suspect’s demands, three top law enforcement officials told our sister network News 4.

The kidnapper demands the release of his “sister,” Aaifa Siddiqui, who is being held in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. Federal officials have not been able to confirm the relationship between the kidnapper and Siddiqui, but are investigating whether they are brothers.

Siddiqui, 49, was convicted by a federal jury in 2010 of trying to kill US officers in Afghanistan.

A rabbi in New York City received a phone call from one of the hostages on Saturday after several people at the Colleyville, Texas, synagogue were held. The rabbi reportedly relayed the suspect’s demand to release Siddiqui, prompting the town rabbi to contact local police.

New York City Police have deployed additional police officers to synagogues around the city as a precaution, but no additional threats are known, officials said Saturday night.

“The NYPD Bureau of Intelligence and the Joint Terrorism Task Force are in close contact with local Police and FBI officials in Texas,” said a statement from Mayor Eric Adams. “Police Commissioner Sewell has fully briefed me and I am confident we are taking the right steps.”

On the other hand, Governor Kathy Hochul pointed out that her team is following the situation in Texas and that at the moment there are no threats to New Yorkers.

Texas authorities and SWAT they responded to Congregation Beth Israel located in Colleyville around 12:30 pm local time after receiving reports of an ongoing hostage situation.

White House press secretary Jen Paski said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation.

According to the Justice Department, in July 2008, Siddiqui “was detained by Afghan authorities, who found a number of items in her possession, including handwritten notes referring to a ‘mass casualty attack’ and listing several places in the United States, including Plum Island, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge.”

They say Siddiqui was being interviewed in Ghazni, Afghanistan, when she “grabbed a US Army officer’s M-4 rifle and fired at another US Army officer and other members of the US interview team.” The US Army officer and an FBI agent were injured in the incident.

Siddiqui was brought to New York in 2008, where she was tried and eventually sentenced to 86 years in prison.

At trial, jurors concluded that Siddiqui said he intended to kill the Americans during the firefight.

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