AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Colleyville Police Department is working an apparent hostage situation at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue near Dallas-Fort Worth on Saturday, the department first tweeted this afternoon.
At least four hostages are believed to be inside the synagogue, including its rabbi, according to law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
On the Congregation Beth Israel-Collyville, Texas Facebook page, a man could be heard angrily yelling in a live stream that was started during this morning’s worship and continued to run for several hours. Just before 2 p.m. it appeared that Facebook stream was taken down.
The Dallas Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says they are assisting the Dallas Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Colleyville Police Department on scene.
All residents in the immediate area are being evacuated. At 3:20 p.m. Central Time, the police department tweeted again that the situation was still ongoing and asked people to continue avoiding the area.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said police would be doing extra patrols to synagogues and other sites as a precaution. Dallas police is also reportedly working with the Jewish Federation and local, state and federal partners.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a tweet that he is “closely monitoring” the situation and added that his office was ready to assist the Colleyville Police Department. Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that the President Biden had been briefed and that “senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership.”
That synagogue is at the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
