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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Vikram Dodd and Maya Wolfe-Robinson

Texas hostage taker had criminal and mental health history in UK

The Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas
The Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas where Malik Faisal Akram was shot by police. His hostages were unharmed. Photograph: Ralph Lauer/EPA

A British man who flew to the US, acquired a gun and took hostages at a Texas synagogue had a criminal record and an extensive history of mental health issues, the Guardian understands.

Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old from Blackburn, was killed after a tense 11-hour hostage standoff at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville on Saturday evening. All four hostages survived the siege and were unharmed.

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