Texas man charged with selling gun to synagogue hostage-taker

The hostage situation unfolded in Texas on January 15

The hostage-taking took place at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. Picture: Brandon Wade/AP

A Texas man has been charged with selling a gun to the Briton who held four hostages inside a synagogue earlier this month before he was shot dead by the FBI.

Henry “Michael” Williams was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after authorities say he sold the weapon that Maisal Faisal Akram used when he entered Congregation Beth Israel in Colleysville, Texas, on January 15 and held the rabbi and three others hostage for hours.

Akram, 44, originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, held the hostages in the Dallas-area suburb while demanding the release of a federal prisoner.

The FBI shot dead the hostage-taker (Brandon Wade/AP)

The stand-off ended after more than 10 hours when the temple’s rabbi threw a chair at Akram and fled with the other two remaining hostages just as an FBI tactical team was moving in.