All hostages have been released and the hostage-taker is dead after an hours-long standoff inside a Texas synagogue

• A man claiming to be armed took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue on Saturday, authorities said.
• All four hostages were released unharmed and the hostage-taker was killed, authorities said.

A hostage-taker was killed, and all hostages were released safely after an hours-long standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, authorities announced in a press conference Saturday evening.

Media outlets reported that a loud bang, followed by the sound of gunfire, could be heard near the synagogue shortly after 9 p.m. local time.

The man had entered the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue just before 11 a.m. that day as the temple was live-streaming a service via Facebook and Zoom, authorities said. The man took four hostages — one of whom was released shortly after 5 p.m.

All four hostages were uninjured. Authorities did not release details about the rescue or the nature of the hostage-taker's death.

The special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas field office, Matt DeSarno, told reporters that the agency had identified the hostage-taker but will not yet release his identity to the public.

DeSarno declined to reveal details about the hostage taker's motivation, but said: "he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community."

However, on Sunday, the FBI released a separate statement saying it considered the standoff a "terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted, and is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force."

ABC News reported that the man, who has not yet been publicly identified by authorities, was ranting and at times mentioned religion. The hostage-taker was also reportedly heard on the live stream demanding the release of the convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who has been dubbed by the media "Lady Al Qaeda."

Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted in 2010 of assaulting and attempting to murder a US soldier, is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence.

Fox News reported the man had been heard repeatedly saying, "I will die" before the live-stream cut out.

"I'm going to die at the end of this, alright?" he said, according to Fox News.

DeSarno said the law enforcement response comprised some 200 officers from various local, state, and federal agencies. He said the negotiation team "had a high frequency and duration of contact with" the hostage-taker throughout the roughly 10-hour standoff.

'There were times when it stopped for periods of time, and like many hostage situations, the relationship between the hostage-taker and the crisis negotiators ebbed and flowed a little bit and sometimes got intense," DeSarno said.

President Joe Biden released a statement late Saturday night addressing the standoff. He thanked the law enforcement officials who "acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages," and issued a warning against anti-Semitism and extremism.

"There is more we will learn in the days ahead about the motivations of the hostage-taker. But let me be clear to anyone who intends to spread hate — we will stand against anti-Semitism and against the rise of extremism in this country," the statement said. "That is who we are, and tonight, the men and women of law enforcement made us all proud."