The Manchester police has arrested two teenagers in connection with the terror attack on Texas synagogue. The arrests came after British man Malik Faisal Akram was identified as the attacker.
A resident of Blackburn in Lancashire, Akram was shot dead after the FBI entered the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville on Saturday night following a 10-hour standoff.
How are the Teens Connected to Akram?
The British national flew down to U.S. and purchased two guns before storming the synagogue and holding four people as hostages including the rabbi.
The incident came to light when Akram entered the building during the live streaming of Sabbath service. "I am going to die" the gunman said repeatedly before the broadcast was disconnected.
As per the U.S. officials, Akram was demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani terrorist known as 'Lady Al Qaeda'. Siddiqui, who is currently in prison in Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced to 86 years for attempting to kill US servicemen in Afghanistan.
The Telegraph reported that in a statement the Greater Manchester police revealed that the two teenagers have been arrested in Manchester by officers from Counter Terror Policing North West as part of an investigation into the attack. "Two teenagers were detained in south Manchester this evening. They remain in custody for questioning," the police said. The identities of the teens and their connection with either Akram or the attack has not been revealed yet.
Akram's Family Spoke with Him During the Siege
Stating that Akram's family was absolutely devastated, his brother, Gulbar said that his family does not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident.
In a post made on Facebook, Gulbar revealed that Akram suffered from mental health issues. "Although my brother was suffering from mental health issues we were confident that he would not harm the hostages ... Later a firefight has taken place and he was shot and killed ... There was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender."
"We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Muslim to attack a Jew or for any Jew to attack a Muslim, Christian, Hindu vice versa etc etc," he went on to add.
Gulbar also revealed that the family had been "sitting in the incident room all last night" at Greenbank police station in Blackburn "until the early hours liaising with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc."
"My thoughts are with the Jewish community and all those affected by the appalling act in Texas. We condemn this act of terrorism and anti-semitism. We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate," foreign secretary Liz Truss had tweeted on Sunday.
