A former gang member from Liverpool has spoken of his 'shock and sadness' after learning his friend was shot dead by police during a hostage siege in Texas.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn, was shot after an 11-hour hostage standoff at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Dallas area on Saturday evening. The four hostages escaped unharmed.
Now Liverpool man Darren Gee, 43, has told the ECHO how he forged a close friendship with Akram on the city's notorious Grizedale estate.
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Gee served 18 years in prison for organising the murder of David Regan during a drug war which raged across the city in 2004.
Gee controlled a violent drug gang rooted on the Grizedale estate and fought running battles with rival criminals and the police.
Gee, from Everton, was released from prison on licence several years ago. His brother Daniel Gee was jailed indefinitely for the public’s protection in 2010 after a secret probe caught him conspiring to buy guns and threatening to kill a teenager.
(Darren) Gee said: "Malik was my friend and I had no idea that he had been involved in this terrible thing in America until yesterday ( Tuesday.) I was shocked and saddened to hear that he was dead."
Gee told the ECHO how Akram spent a few months living with him in Liverpool.
He said: "Malik came into my life during the late summer of 2020. He arrived on the Grizedale estate and started knocking on doors, looking for me.
"When I heard about this I suspected he might have been a criminal looking to confront me over something from the past.
"But when we met all he showed me was peace and love."
Gee explained that Akram had read about him and was aware of his strong presence on social media. Gee's 'CALNAKUK' Instagram account has 49,000 followers.
He said: "I would describe Malik as an activist. He had campaigned about the treatment of people in the prison system.
"He knew that my family had been thought it a bit and had all kinds of problems with the system. At the time I was out of prison but under very heavy restrictions as part of the MAPPA (multi-agency public protection arrangements) scheme.
"Malik had been in trouble with the police in the past and was sympathetic. He had also read about my brother Danny who had received an IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) and wanted to help my family."
The BBC reported that MI5 investigated Akram in 2020 and had him on a watch list as a “subject of interest” but concluded that he no longer posed a threat.
Gee said: "When I read about the surveillance he was under I did wonder if it was because he had started to spend time with me on the Grizedale. I have a past and once associated with very dangerous people."
Gee said that he only had positive memories of Akram.
He said: "Yes looking back I suppose there could have been problems but Malik was an absolute gentleman. He just seemed to bring the best out in people.
"He would bring the food and I would do the cooking. We did everything that friends do together, cooking, eating and going to the gym.
"I took Malik to a well known Mosque in the city and would wait outside for him. He loved the L8 community too."
Gee said that at the time he was under pressure from violent criminals in the north Liverpool area.
He said: "Malik knew that there were people out there who wanted to kill me but he was not intimidated. Looking back he showed real strength of character by associating with me during that period of time. He was not scared."
Gee said he never suspected his friend was an extremist. He said: "So Malik was a committed Muslim and activist but never spoke the language of extremism. I know he was desperately committed to helping people in Syria.
"He travelled the country in a lorry collecting presents and parcels that could be sent out to Syria. I helped him and we went over to a shop in the Blackburn area where this charity was based. "
Gee said that with hindsight he sensed that his friend was suffering from mental health issues. He said: " Yes there were issues there. I think Malik suffered from some mild form of mental illness. He probably needed help."
The first part of the Dallas siege was live-streamed on Facebook until the feed was cut off around 2pm. On the Facebook live, Akram was heard calling for the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al Qaeda. She was convicted of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan.
Gee said: "I remember he was always talking about a woman who he claimed had been wrongly jailed by the Americans. He said she was someone who just wanted to help people and was not a terrorist. He claimed she was a scientist and teacher."
Gee said he was shocked by recent events in Dallas. He said: "I cannot condone what Malik has done and I am baffled as to how he gained entry into the US because he had a criminal record.
"The people he took hostage would have feared for their lives and that is always wrong. But I also feel that this did not have to happen and he did not have to die. Malik was a very frustrated person who needed help. It sounds to me like he has just exploded."
Gee said that he suspected that his friend was not part of an established terror network. He said: "If he was anything he was a lone wolf. I would be shocked if he was part of anything more sophisticated or organised than that. I think he has got into the US by using somebody else's passport. He has bought a gun there and that was it."
Gee said he had a lot of friends in the UK's Muslim community. He said: "I had been very close to Muslims across the country prior to meeting Malik. I had spent time with a lot of Muslims in the prison system, including extremists.
"In my experience the vast majority of Muslims are all about peace and love. It's the handful that become involved in the wrong things and get all the media attention."
Gee said that his association ended with Akram toward the end of 2020. He said: "I started to step back a bit because I found him a bit intense. I liked and respected him but needed my own space and time."
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker said he threw a chair at Akram which allowed him and two others to escape. Another hostage had managed to escape hours earlier.
Akram was then shot dead by the FBI.
Speaking to American TV networks, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker said he thought Akram had arrived at the synagogue for shelter and offered him a cup of tea.
He said: "When I took him I stayed with him. Making tea was an opportunity to speak with him and in that moment I didn't hear anything suspicious.
"Some of his story didn't quite add up so I was a little bit suspicious but that isn't necessarily an uncommon thing.
"It was during prayer. While we were praying my back was turned and I heard a click and it could have been anything and it turned out that it was his gun."
US President Joe Biden branded the incident 'an act of terror' and said that UK police are working with authorities in America on the investigation.
On Monday Home Secretary Priti Patel said she had offered "the full support" of the UK police and security services to her US counterpart.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has described the incident as an "act of terrorism and anti-Semitism."
Akram's brother Gulbar said that his family were 'devastated' by his death after they spent hours talking to him in an attempt to secure a peaceful resolution.
Two teenagers detained by police in south Manchester over the Texas Synagogue attack have been released without charge.
Assistant Chief Constable Dominic Scally for Counter Terror Policing North West has confirmed that Akram was behind the attack and said they were assisting with the ongoing investigation.
He added: "Police forces in the region will continue to liaise with their local communities, including the Jewish community, and will put in place any necessary measures to provide reassurance to them.
"We continue to urge the public to report anything that might be linked to terrorism to police, by calling the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 - your call could save lives."
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