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Feds accuse Texas man of selling gun used to take hostages

Texas Synagogue Standoff
Posted at 5:34 PM, Jan 26, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-26 17:34:04-05

DALLAS (AP) — The Justice Department says a Texas man has been charged with a federal gun crime after authorities say he sold a gun to a man who held four hostages inside a Texas synagogue earlier this month.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that Henry "Michael" Williams was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after he sold the weapon that Malik Faisal Akram used when he entered Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Jan. 15.

Akram held the synagogue's rabbi and three other hostages for hours.

Akram was fatally shot by the FBI.

Last week, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told “CBS Mornings” that to escape the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue after a 10-hour standoff, he threw a chair at the gunman.

In his interview, Cytron-Walker said he let the gunman because it appeared he needed shelter. He said at first the man did not threatening or suspicious, but he later heard a gun click as he was praying.

Two additional people were arrested on Jan. 17 in the U.K. in connection to the incident, the Associated Press reported.

The attorney listed for Williams in court records did not immediately respond to a phone message and email seeking comment.