Gunshots, Texas Synagogue Explosions: Rabbi Among Hostages

An impasse at a synagogue in North Texas erupted with a loud bang on Saturday night, when three hostages remained inside, including the rabbi.

According to multiple reports, the sounds that rocked the synagogue in Colleyville resembled a mixture of gunfire and explosions. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths, and the Texas governor said all the hostages are now “alive and safe.”

This started Saturday with hostage reports at a live-streamed Shabbat service at Beth Israel Church in Colleyville that drew the attention of local police.

SWAT operations at the synagogue resulted in the evacuation of nearby residents by Colleyville police, who also urged people to avoid the area just northeast of Fort Worth. Although most of the hostages were released earlier during the 11-hour standoff, cleric Charlie Cytron-Walker was among the three remaining hostages.

With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the service is being streamed live so that members of the synagogue can watch without actually attending. The hostage situation was seen on the live stream, which triggered the law enforcement.

The live stream has been removed.

The hostages were released throughout the day, but no reason why it happened has yet to be revealed.

After the explosion and subsequent gunfire, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that all the hostages had been released and were “alive and safe.”

It is not clear if the suspect is alive or dead.

Beth Israel Congregation was started in 1998 by three women, including author Anna Salton Eisen, as a chavurah, a group of Jews that gathered for prayers, before it became a church. synagogue in 1999.

This is an evolving story.