Man threatened hostages over scientist's jailing, inquest told

A British man who had been investigated by MI5 threatened to shoot worshippers at a US synagogue as he demanded the release of a Pakistani scientist jailed in the country, an inquest has heard.

Malik Faisal Akram, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was shot dead after an 11-hour siege at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Dallas on 15 January 2022.

An inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard the 44-year-old had travelled to New York two weeks earlier and then gone to Dallas, where he purchased a black market handgun and talked his way into a synagogue in nearby Colleyville.

Preston coroner James Adeley recorded that Akram had "detained hostages and died after being shot by federal agents".

The court heard Akram had run a chain of five pharmacies in north-west England but they closed down at about the same time as his marriage foundered.

Counter-Terror Policing North West's Det Chief Insp Clare Devlin said Akram and his wife had not spoken for three years before his death and he had also quarrelled with his wider family in the months before the siege.

Court records showed he had been made the subject of a 28-day domestic violence protection order in 2016.

The inquest was told that before the siege, Akram spent much of the year in Pakistan and became the subject of an MI5 investigation, but the case was closed after a month with the decision being made that he was not considered a threat.

The four hostages survived the ordeal in January 2022

The hearing was told Akram flew from Manchester to the US on 29 December 2021 and stayed in different locations in Dallas before ending up at a homeless shelter on 12 January 2022.

Det Chief Insp Devlin said the next morning, he bought a pistol for $550 from a US gun supplier.

Two days later, he went to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, knocking on the door and asking the rabbi: "Excuse me, do you do night shelters?"

Despite not doing so, the rabbi let him in before the morning Shabbat service, which was also being live-streamed because of coronavirus restrictions.

"As the service progressed, Akram suddenly produced a handgun from his coat and stated that he had explosives in his bag," Det Chief Insp Devlin said.

She said viewers watched as he became “abusive to a member of the congregation and effectively took them hostage", demanding to speak to influential New York rabbi Angela Buchdahl.

Members of the online audience subsequently contacted police.

Akram was described as becoming more volatile and aggressive as the siege went on

The court heard Akram told FBI negotiators he wanted the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who was serving an 86-year jail term in the nearby Fort Worth prison over attempts to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan.

The inquest was told Akram, who told negotiators his name was Khalid, said anyone within a 330ft (100m) radius of the synagogue should be evacuated because he had explosives.

He also fired the gun into the air during a call to his sons, telling negotiators he was saying his "last goodbyes to them".

The court heard Akram's brother Gulbar tried to persuade him to stop the siege on a call, telling him his hostages were innocent and urging him to think about his children.

Akram later agreed to release a hostage who was diabetic.

The inquest was told he later became agitated and would not engage with negotiators, before becoming aggressive during a final call and telling the remaining three hostages to "get on their knees".

He said he would give officers another hour to fulfil his demands, before adding: "When you come, you better kill me 'cause I'll put a bullet in you now."

Akram's brother, Gulbar, excused himself before the recording was played, telling the coroner: "I have only got good memories of my brother."

The siege at the synagogue lasted for 11 hours

At 21:10, the rabbi threw a chair to distract Akram and the hostages opened a backdoor and escaped.

CCTV footage showed Akram go to the door and point his pistol at the last hostage, but he did not fire and went back inside.

One minute later, specialist law enforcement officers entered the synagogue and shot him.

A deputy medical examiner in Texas found he was hit by five bullets, one of which struck him in the chest, and gave the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.

Mr Adeley recorded that Akram "died after being shot by federal agents".