Phone call shows brother pleading with Texas hostage-taker

By DANICA KIRKA, SYLVIA HUI AND JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A recording shows a British man who took four people hostage in a Texas synagogue ranted against Jews and American wars in Muslim-majority countries as his brother pleaded with him to give up and free the captives, The expletive-filled 3-minute recording, posted on the website of The Jewish Chronicle, reveals the motivation of hostage-taker Malik Faisal Akram. The 44-year-old said he was “bombed up” and equipped with “every kind of ammunition” inside Congregation Beth Israel. His brother desperately tried to get his brother to lay down his weapons, describing the hostages as innocent people. Instead, Saturday’s 10-standoff ended with Malik Faisal Akram’s death. The four hostages were unharmed.