The British terrorist who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue had been investigated by UK intelligence services, but determined not to be a terroristic threat, according to reports Tuesday.
Malik Faisal Akram, who had a history of mental illness, was investigated by MI5 “in the second half of 2020” after a tip that he could be a possible Islamist terrorist threat, government sources told the Guardian.
It was “closed shortly afterwards with an assessment that there was no indication he presented a terrorist threat at that time,” a government source also told the Telegraph.
Although he was put on a list of Subjects of Interests (SOI), the spy agency concluded that he did not “pass the threshold” for a full-blown investigation, the UK paper said.
“There were no grounds for further examination and no basis to prevent him traveling,” a source told the Telegraph.
The revelations come amid alarm that Akram was able to enter the US on a tourist visa given warnings over his mental health as well as his extensive criminal record, the papers noted.
His rap sheet dates back to at least 1996, when he was jailed for violent disorder following a baseball bat attack on a member of his extended family, the Telegraph noted.
Police had been trying to locate him as recently as three weeks ago, although it was not clear why, the Sun reported.
Still, Akram was able to fly from the UK to JFK Airport on Dec. 29, listing his intention to stay in a hotel on Queens Boulevard, sources previously confirmed to The Post.
He stayed in the Big Apple for just two days before boarding another flight on New Year’s Eve to Texas, where he had previously stayed at homeless shelters.
On Saturday, he held four people, including a rabbi, in the terrifying ordeal at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville.
Akram was shot dead after the heroic rabbi fought back and threw a chair at him, freeing him and his congregants from the more than 10-hour standoff.
President Biden on Sunday declared it an act of terrorism, and the British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said the UK government condemned “this act of terrorism and anti-Semitism.”
A US official told the Telegraph that there was no information on America’s intelligence databases to suggest Akram should be denied entry.
MI5 will look at Akram’s case to see if anything should have been done differently, sources told the paper.
MI5 has up to 3,000 jihadist suspects under active investigation at any one time, with at least 30,000 no longer being investigated, the Telegraph reported.
Two teenagers were detained for questioning in the UK late Sunday, and the FBI was told that Akram appeared to have a close contact in Texas.
Wayne Walker, CEO and pastor of OurCalling, said he turned photos and video over to the FBI showing a man who hugged Akram when he took him to the shelter on Jan. 2.
“He was dropped off by somebody that looked like he had a relationship with him,” said Walker.
An FBI spokeswoman said late Monday that the agency did not have any information it could confirm regarding Akram’s stay at the OurCalling facility. The bureau has said there was no early indication that anyone else was involved in the hostage-taking.
With Post wires
