Police were negotiating with a man believed to have taken people hostage at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, during a religious service on Saturday that was being broadcast online.
The Colleyville Police Department said it had evacuated residents from the area around the Congregation Beth Israel as it deployed SWAT teams after responding to an emergency call at 10:41 a.m local time. (1641gmt) SWAT teams gathered at a local school a few blocks away from the synagogue to prepare to respond to the hostage situation.
FBI crisis negotiators from the nearby Dallas field office were speaking to the man, police said. No injuries have been reported and it remained unclear what weapons, if any, the man had.
The man could be heard having a one-sided conversation in what appeared to be a phone call during a Facebook livestream of the Shabbat service of the Reform Jewish synagogue in Colleyville, which is located roughly 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth. The livestream cut off around 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT).
Before the livestream was ended, the man could be heard ranting and talking about religion and his sister, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The man could be heard repeatedly saying he didn’t want to see anyone hurt and that he believed he was going to die, the newspaper said.
