Reports: Texas Synagogue Gunman Was Known to British Intelligence

The suspected gunman who took four people hostage at a Dallas-area synagogue before he was killed was known to British intelligence and assessed to no longer be a threat at the time he traveled to the United States, the BBC and other media are reporting.

"Malik Faisal Akram, the Texas synagogue hostage-taker, was known to MI5 and was investigated in 2020. He was assessed to be no longer a risk at the time he flew to US at New Year," Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent, said in a tweet.

He was put on a list of Subjects of Interests ny MI5, The Telegraph reported, citing an unnamed government source, but the spy agency concluded that he did not “pass the threshold” for a full-blown investigation.

“There were no grounds for further examination and no basis to prevent him traveling,” The Telegraph's source said.