Texas synagogue hostage-taker wanted ‘machine gun,’ FBI says

An FBI agent testified on Wednesday during a detention hearing that Malik Faisal Akram, the man who held four people hostage in a Texas synagogue last month before he was fatally shot, wanted a “machine gun” and drugs prior to the event, The Associated Press reported.

FBI agent Taylor Page said in court on Wednesday that Henry “Michael” Williams, who was charged late last month for allegedly selling a firearm to Akram, claimed the suspect had sought to buy “a machine gun or a weapon that contains a large number of bullets” and methamphetamines, according to the news wire.

The firearm was to be used for helping settle a debt, according to Page. 

Page’s testimony was delivered during a detention hearing for Williams.

Page testified that between 10 and 15 separate firearm sales had been organized by Williams. Without providing details, the FBI agent also said in court that during the standoff Akram had fired his weapon, the AP reported.

In court, a defense lawyer for Williams argued that officials were blaming what happened at the synagogue last month on her client, arguing that he could not have been aware of how Akram intended to use the gun, according to the news wire. 

Ahead of his trial, Williams was ordered to be detained by a federal magistrate.

The development comes one month after Akram, a British national, allegedly held four people hostage at a Colleyville, Texas synagogue following an hours-long standoff. Akram was fatally shot during the hostage situation, according to the AP. He was previously known to British security officials in 2020.

An FBI special agent called it both a “hate crime and an act of terrorism.”