Free Republic

The FBI identified the suspect who took four people hostage Saturday at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue as Malik Faisal Akram, 44. Authorities said Saturday night that Akram had died, while all four hostages made it out alive. Akram was a British citizen, the FBI said. It's unclear when he came to the U.S Four hostages were held inside the synagogue for hours, with one male hostage being released around 7:30 p.m. ET. Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the remaining three hostages were "out alive and safe." Authorities said shortly afterward that the suspect was dead. Authorities...

...The covert MI5 probe into his Islamic extremism lasted at least a month, sources confirmed... It comes as Akram's brother also raised concerns as to how the gunman managed to get a US visa despite having a criminal record. He was not on US "no-fly" lists despite the oddball's clear links to Islamic extremism dating back at least 20 years. It also emerged that he was barred from entering Blackburn Magistrates’ Court for repeatedly threatening and abusing the court staff as long ago as 2001. Deputy justice clerk Peter Wells slammed Akram as a "menace" at the time... After issuing...