Daily Times

All four people taken hostage in a more than 10-hour standoff at a Texas synagogue have been freed unharmed, police said late Saturday, and their suspected captor is dead.

The siege in the small Texas town of Colleyville — in which the suspect was apparently demanding the release of a convicted terrorist — had sparked an outpouring of concern from Jewish organizations in the United States and the Israeli government.Colleyville police chief Michael Miller told a news conference a “rescue team breached the synagogue” on Saturday evening and rescued three remaining hostages — all adults — being held inside. A first hostage had been released unharmed a few hours earlier.

“The suspect is deceased,” Miller told reporters.

FBI Dallas Special Agent Matt DeSarno said the four hostages — who included a much-loved local rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker — did not need medical attention.”He did not harm them in any way,” he said.

There were reports from journalists at the scene of a loud explosion and gunshots at the synagogue shortly before the press conference.That was more than 10 hours after police were alerted to the emergency at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Dallas.

Officers evacuated the synagogue’s surroundings and cordoned off the area, the police force said.ABC News reported that the hostage-taker was armed and had claimed to have bombs in unknown locations. That was not confirmed by police although Miller said that “bomb techs are clearing the scene.”

At about 3 am local time (0800 GMT) the police force tweeted that it was “now safe for residents who were evacuated to return.”