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The brother of 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, the British national who was shot dead after taking four people hostage at a Texas synagogue, says his brother suffered from “mental health issues.”
In a statement shortly after learning news of his brother’s death at the hands of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, Gulbar Akram expressed deep sorrow over the events that transpired at Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday.
“It is with great sadness I will confirm my brother Faisal passed away in Texas, USA, this morning,” said Gulbar. “We are absolutely devastated as a family. We can’t say much now as there is an ongoing FBI investigation.”
Malik allegedly took hostages to secure the release of convicted Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddiqu, a.k.a. Lady al-Qaeda. Gulbar emphasized that his family does not in any way condone violence and expressed sympathy for the victims.
“We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident,” he said.
Gulbar added that his brother “was suffering from mental health issues” and did not believe he would have harmed the hostages, admitting that there was nothing his family could say or do to make him surrender.