WASHINGTON: A familiar gun versus border battle has erupted between Republicans and Democrats in the United States after Texas was taken hostage by a British-Pakistani assailant, even as his family in the UK claimed He was suffering from mental health issues, which may have caused his actions.
The 43-year-old gunman who took four hostages at a synagogue outside Dallas on Sunday is demanding the release of the imprisoned Pakistani-American scientist Afia Siddiqui, was later recognized as Malik Faisal Akram, a British national of Pakistani origin with ties to an extremist group Tablighi Jamaat, He was killed in a shootout with an FBI team after freeing one hostage and the others fled.
Their families, who had been cooperating with the FBI during the 12-hour standoff, claimed they had freed the captives, expressing regret for freeing the hostages.
“There was nothing we could say or do to him that could persuade him to surrender,” said his brother. Gulbar Akram said in a statement. Family members and aides in the United Kingdom who claimed he was suffering from mental health issues also wondered how he managed to enter the United States, given a record showing clashes with British law enforcement officers. was involved.
In the US, the matter quickly turned into a political wrangling and was pulled down by Republicans. Biden The administration accused it of easing border controls established during Trump’s tenure.
Officials said Akram had come to the US from the UK two weeks ago without explaining what kind of visa he traveled on and how he got it, given that he had a criminal record. According to some accounts, Akram stayed in homeless shelters in the New York area before moving to Dallas, where he took refuge in a synagogue before turning evil.
President Biden himself stepped into the flap, appearing to blame easy access to guns in the US for the episode rather than any loose border controls, while speculating that Akram might have bought the gun he wanted. “A homeless was armed from a person in a shelter or from a person in a homeless community.”
“It’s hard to tell. I don’t know,” Biden said, adding that while background checks are “important,” they don’t work when someone buys a gun off the street.
“There are so many guns that have sold out of late; it’s just ridiculous. And it’s because of our failure to focus on gun buying, gun sales, ghost guns and a whole lot more than it should be. Several things I’m trying to do,” the US President said, expanding the debate around the episode.
Elsewhere, US legislators and activists lashed out at Akram’s family and the Blackburn Muslim community for not recognizing the anti-Semitic nature of the attack. Criticism focused on a statement issued by the perpetrator’s family and friends who praised him and said, “May the Almighty forgive all his sins and bless him with the highest rank of heaven.”
The statement was later amended with the Blackburn Muslim Community saying, “We posted about the death of a local man yesterday and used a standard template with generic terms that are used on all of our death announcements. After learning about the complete circumstances surrounding the death, the post was removed.”
“We apologize for any upset or offense to those directly and indirectly affected by the incident, especially the Jewish community in Texas. This was unintentional and our thoughts are with all of them,” community leaders Said, they “fully condemn any threat or attack on innocent people” and they stand in “solidarity with people of all faiths”.
The 43-year-old gunman who took four hostages at a synagogue outside Dallas on Sunday is demanding the release of the imprisoned Pakistani-American scientist Afia Siddiqui, was later recognized as Malik Faisal Akram, a British national of Pakistani origin with ties to an extremist group Tablighi Jamaat, He was killed in a shootout with an FBI team after freeing one hostage and the others fled.
Their families, who had been cooperating with the FBI during the 12-hour standoff, claimed they had freed the captives, expressing regret for freeing the hostages.
“There was nothing we could say or do to him that could persuade him to surrender,” said his brother. Gulbar Akram said in a statement. Family members and aides in the United Kingdom who claimed he was suffering from mental health issues also wondered how he managed to enter the United States, given a record showing clashes with British law enforcement officers. was involved.
In the US, the matter quickly turned into a political wrangling and was pulled down by Republicans. Biden The administration accused it of easing border controls established during Trump’s tenure.
Officials said Akram had come to the US from the UK two weeks ago without explaining what kind of visa he traveled on and how he got it, given that he had a criminal record. According to some accounts, Akram stayed in homeless shelters in the New York area before moving to Dallas, where he took refuge in a synagogue before turning evil.
President Biden himself stepped into the flap, appearing to blame easy access to guns in the US for the episode rather than any loose border controls, while speculating that Akram might have bought the gun he wanted. “A homeless was armed from a person in a shelter or from a person in a homeless community.”
“It’s hard to tell. I don’t know,” Biden said, adding that while background checks are “important,” they don’t work when someone buys a gun off the street.
“There are so many guns that have sold out of late; it’s just ridiculous. And it’s because of our failure to focus on gun buying, gun sales, ghost guns and a whole lot more than it should be. Several things I’m trying to do,” the US President said, expanding the debate around the episode.
Elsewhere, US legislators and activists lashed out at Akram’s family and the Blackburn Muslim community for not recognizing the anti-Semitic nature of the attack. Criticism focused on a statement issued by the perpetrator’s family and friends who praised him and said, “May the Almighty forgive all his sins and bless him with the highest rank of heaven.”
The statement was later amended with the Blackburn Muslim Community saying, “We posted about the death of a local man yesterday and used a standard template with generic terms that are used on all of our death announcements. After learning about the complete circumstances surrounding the death, the post was removed.”
“We apologize for any upset or offense to those directly and indirectly affected by the incident, especially the Jewish community in Texas. This was unintentional and our thoughts are with all of them,” community leaders Said, they “fully condemn any threat or attack on innocent people” and they stand in “solidarity with people of all faiths”.
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