Colleyville synagogue at center of 2022 hostage crisis receives bomb threat
COLLEYVILLE, Texas - The Colleyville synagogue held hostage by an armed man two years ago received an emailed bomb threat.
Colleyville police evacuated the synagogue on Friday, bringing back tough memories for those who remember that hostage situation.
Jeffrey Cohen is a leader of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville.
"We’ve got a good community," he said. "We know our neighbors, and our neighbors know us."
However, it’s unclear who sent the Jewish synagogue a bomb threat Friday morning.
It came in an email saying in part, "Everything will blow up and blood will shatter everywhere."
Cohen contacted the police. The synagogue was evacuated.
"And when everything was clear," he said. "We let everybody back in."
No bombs were found.
The email appears to be a hoax.
"And you never know which ones are real and which ones aren’t," Cohen said.
Still, if any synagogue has reason for anxiety, it’s this one.
In January 2022, the synagogue opened its doors to a man claiming to be homeless. It assisted him for about an hour.
Featured
2023 Coverage: Sunday marks one year since attack on Colleyville synagogue
Jan. 15 marks one year since an armed British Pakistani took four people hostage during Shabbat services in a ten-hour standoff that ended with an FBI tactical team killing Malik Akram. Jewish leaders say since what happened at Colleyville, antisemitic hate has ticked up.
"He was friendly, jovial, made eye contact, smiled," Cohen recalled. "He very much seemed like what he claimed to be."
Until he wasn’t.
The man revealed a gun and took four hostages. Cohen was one of them.
"That went on for 11 hours. And in the end, we escaped, and he was killed," he recalled.
Man who sold gun to terrorist who took hostages at Colleyville synagogue sentenced to 95 months in prison
Law enforcement killed the man who was plotting to use the hostages as a bargaining chip in his hopes to release a terrorist from a federal prison in Texas.
Now, in the midst of Israel's war with Hamas terrorists, there’s concern of new attacks on soft targets like houses of worship.
Unfortunately, Friday’s bomb threat will likely not be the last to a place of worship.
Cohen’s hope is for people to understand that his small congregation is no place to target violence.
"Folks need to know what’s going on so that they can make a decision if what they see is acceptable or not," he said. "And if it’s not acceptable, they can speak out against it."
Several other North Texas synagogues received the same email.
The FBI says Colleyville PD is the lead on the investigation, but it will help coordinate if needed.