Hostages safe after standoff inside synagogue; captor dead

By JAKE BLEIBERG, ERIC TUCKER and MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tweeted that all hostages are safe after Saturday’s standoff inside a Dallas-area synagogue. Abbott’s tweet Saturday night came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the hostage-taker is dead. The suspect had taken four hostages at Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday morning. Services at the synagogue were being livestreamed on Facebook before the feed cut out. There have been no reported injuries. An official told the AP that the hostage-taker demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida.