Live Updates: Man Takes Rabbi, Others Hostage at Texas Synagogue

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Heavily armed police officers and F.B.I. negotiators surrounded a synagogue Saturday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where a man who was inside had taken the rabbi and several others hostage, the authorities said.

The standoff was taking place at Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which said the man claimed to have weapons and explosives.

The department said the man had demanded to see his “sister,” who may not actually be related to him and who is currently in U.S. federal custody for “terroristic events” in Afghanistan.

“The man claims he and his sister will be going to Jannah (Muslim belief of heaven) after he sees her,” the department said in a statement.

The congregation had been holding a scheduled Sabbath service at 10 a.m. It was being live streamed on its Facebook page when, the police said, they were called at about 10:41 a.m.

On the livestream, a man could be heard shouting about dying and not liking police officers, although the context was not clear because the stream was inaudible at times. A video of the livestream did not show what was going on inside the synagogue.

The man could also be heard demanding to get his sister on the phone before the livestream stopped.

“It’s a deal,” he said at one point. “It’s a deal I had with you.”

The Colleyville police said that F.B.I. crisis negotiators were in communication with the man. One male hostage was released at about 5 p.m., the police said. He was unharmed.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said President Biden had been briefed on “the developing hostage situation” in Colleyville, a city of about 26,000 residents that is about 15 miles northeast of Fort Worth.

“He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops,” Ms. Psaki said on Twitter. “Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership.”

Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Department of Public Safety was also on the scene of what he described as a “tense hostage situation.”

“They are working with local and federal teams to achieve the best and safest outcome,” Mr. Abbott said.

Katie Chaumont, an F.B.I. spokeswoman, said that nearby residents had been evacuated.

Eugene Posnock, a member of the synagogue, said that she and other members had been following the service on Zoom when the man entered the sanctuary, disrupting prayers.

She said all she heard was yelling in the background before the connection was lost.

“We are very, very upset,” Ms. Posnock said. “We are hoping for the best.”

The hostage situation came as synagogues and Jewish institutions across the country have been on high alert after attacks like the one that killed a woman in Poway, Calif., in 2019, and another that killed 11 people in Pittsburgh in 2018.

Bradley Orsini, senior national security adviser for Secure Community Network, which consults with synagogues across the country on safety procedures, said that a colleague had advised Congregation Beth Israel on its security procedures last summer.

The consultation typically involves preparing for an active-shooter situation and developing awareness of any security threats, he said.

The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said he was “closely monitoring” the standoff.

“We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” Mr. Bennett said on Twitter.

U.S. Representative Colin Allred of Texas said he was praying for the congregants in Colleyville.

“No one should have to fear something like this may happen in their place of worship,” he said on Twitter.