The has been alerted to a possible contact of the synagogue terrorist, as a new photo emerged of the attacker taken just days before the hostage crisis.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, had stayed at Dallas-area homeless shelters for about two weeks before taking four people and a rabbi hostage in a 10-hour siege on Saturday, ending in his death in a police shooting.
Wayne Walker, CEO and pastor of OurCalling, which provides services to homeless people, said that Akram stayed at their downtown Dallas facility on January 2, and their review of camera footage showed he was dropped off by someone who hugged him.
‘So he was dropped off by somebody that looked like he had a relationship with him,’ said Walker.
‘He was dropped off by a guy who actually had some conversations with him outside and actually brought him in to our facility, had some more conversations with him inside,’ Walker said.
‘And then before he left, they gave each other long hugs like they were wine tours long island lost friends and patted each other on the back before the one took off.’
Walker said his ministry had contacted the FBI and gave them access to their photos and video.One photo shows Akram on January 2, days before the attack.
A new image emerged of Akram tonight, taken at an outreach centre in Dallas – around three miles from the site of the attack in Colleyville – just days before he took hostages
Police are piecing together the terrorist’s final movements after arriving at JFK airport by January 2 before staying in a homeless hostel run by a Christian charity before launching the attack on January 15
Akram, a British citizen from Blackburn, was the subject of a ‘short lead investigation’ – effectively chasing a tip – by British domestic intelligence service MI5 for a least four weeks at the end of 2020, it emerged on Tuesday.
While there were concerns about Akram’s activities, MI5 deemed there was no sign he presented an imminent threat and the case was closed before tactics such as eavesdropping were deployed, according to the