Two teenagers arrested in England after a gunman took four hostages at a Texas synagogue on Saturday have been released without charge, the Greater Manchester Police said Tuesday. The teenagers, unidentified due to their ages, were detained in south Manchester on Sunday evening for questioning. Citing law enforcement sources in the United States, ABC News reported that the pair were children of the alleged hostage-taker, identified as 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram. It was revealed earlier on Tuesday that Akram had been previously investigated and deemed harmless by MI5. It is not yet clear why Akram, who had a criminal record in the United Kingdom, was able to travel to the U.S. on what was believed to be a tourist visa. All four hostages escaped unharmed after an 11-hour standoff, while Akram was killed after the FBI stormed the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.
