Brother of Texas synagogue hostage-taker said the US should never have let him into the country in the first place

• A British national took four people hostage in a Texas synagogue and was killed by law enforcement.
• Malik Faisal Akram's brother said US immigration should never have let him enter the country.

The brother of a British national who took four people hostage in a Texas synagogue on Saturday said the US should never have let him into the country in the first place.

Malik Faisal Akram was killed after an hourslong standoff in Colleyville, Texas, law enforcement said, adding that the hostages were safe. The FBI later designated the hostage situation a "terrorism-related matter."

His brother, Gulbar Akram, told Sky News that his brother that immigration should not have let him enter the US in the first place. Malik Faisal Akram had entered the US via New York's JFK International Airport two weeks ago, the BBC reported.

Gulbar Akram said his brother "should never have been able to get through immigration."

"Someone helped him. He shouldn't have been able to board a plane without any stringent checks."

He made similar comments to The New York Times, saying his brother was known to the UK's counterterrorism police.

"How had he gotten into America?" he said. "Why was he granted a visa? How did he land at J.F.K. airport and not get stopped for one second?"

He also told The Times that it was common knowledge that his brother had "mental health issues," but did not give more details.

Malik Faisal Akram was investigated by MI5, the UK's domestic-security service, in 2020, but it determined that he was no longer a risk by the time he traveled to the US, the BBC and The Times of London's Fiona Hamilton reported Tuesday.

Gulbar, who is in the UK, told The Times that he spoke with his brother on the phone during the standoff, and that he tried to convince his brother out of the situation.