The Texas rabbi who escaped from British gunman Malik Faisal Akram after a 12-hour stand-off on Saturday said he welcomed him into his synagogue because he ‘looked like he needed shelter’ and gave him a cup of tea.  

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker also explained that he threw a chair at Akram at Beth Israel Congregation in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday so that he and two other hostages were able to escape. 

Earlier in the day, Cytron-Walker said he welcomed Akram into the synagogue after he tapped on the window. He then sat down for tea with Cytron-Walker before services commenced. 

It was when the rabbi was leading the congregation in prayer that the 44-year-old British gunman cocked his weapon and took the rabbi and three others hostage.

He was shot dead by SWAT teams after the hostages escaped. 

In an interview with CBS Mornings on Monday, Rabbi Cytron-Walker told how he’d welcomed him in without hesitation. 

‘When I took him in, I stayed with him. Making tea was an opportunity for me to talk with him. In that moment, I didn’t hear anything suspicious.

‘Some of his story didn’t quite add up so I was a little bit curious but that’s not necessarily an uncommon thing. It was during prayer, while we were praying, my back was turned. We face towards Jerusalem when we pray. 

‘I heard a click. It could have been anything… it turned out it was his gun,’ he said. 

The rabbi also revealed that towards the end of the stand-off, he feared he would be killed because the gunman wasn’t ‘getting what he wanted’. 

‘It didn’t look good. It didn’t sound good. We were terrified.’ 

The hostages only escaped when he threw a chair in the gunman’s face and bolted for the exit. 

SWAT teams killed the gunman afterwards, once all of the hostages were out safely. 

‘When I saw an opportunity where he wasn’t in a good position, I made sure the two gentlemen who were still with him, that they were ready to go. The exit wasn’t too far away. 

‘I told them to go, I threw a chair at the gunman and I headed to the door and all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired,’ he said. 

He added that the group would ‘of course’ be going back to the synagogue despite the ‘terrifying, overwhelming’ experience. 

‘It’s something that we are definitely going to do. We’ve experience great difficulty and challenges and at the same time we’ve experienced great resilience.

‘It won’t be an easy thing but it’s a really important thing.’

Questions remain over how Akram – who had stayed in a homeless shelter in the weeks before he went to the synagogue – was able to enter the US with his long criminal record. 

His family say he was mentally ill and was mourning the recent death of his brother, who died from COVID-19. 

It remains unclear whether or not Akram belongs to any terrorist organizations but during the stand-off, he demanded the release of  ‘Lady Al Qaeda’ Aafia Siddiqui. 

She is being held in prison in Fort Worth for trying to murder Americans in 2008 after being arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of plotting attacks against the US. 

While she was being questioned, she opened fire on soldiers and FBI agents. They returned fire, wounding her, and she was brought to the US. 

She had been living in the US during the 9/11 attacks but then fled to Pakistan, fearing that her children were going to be taken from her and be converted to Christianity. 

It remains unconfirmed if she has ever met Akram or spoken with him. 

Earlier, Rabbi  Cytron-Walker credited FBI training with being able to escape from the gunman. 

‘Over the years, my congregation and I have participated in multiple security courses from the Colleyville Police Department, the FBI, the Anti-Defamation League, and Secure Community Network,’ he said.

‘We are alive today because of that education. I encourage all Jewish congregations, religious groups, schools, and others to participate in active-shooter and security courses. 

‘In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening. 

‘Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself.’   

Akram’s criminal record is not yet known but his brother told Sky News in the UK that he was known to police. 

‘He’s known to police. Got a criminal record. How was he allowed to get a visa and acquire a gun?’ he said.  

He landed at New York’s JFK Airport on January 2 before spending between January 6 and January 13 at a Christian charity’s homeless hostel in Dallas, managing to buy a gun ‘on the street’ nearby. 

British Conservative MP Bob Seely told MailOnline there seemed to have been a ‘dreadful’ error at the UK and US borders caused by an ‘intelligence failure’ and it needed to be looked at.

‘This is clearly a failure of intelligence sharing. It is absolutely dreadful that he has been allowed to go to the States and hurt people. 

‘Clearly something has gone wrong somewhere,’ he said. 

Donald Trump Jr. was among the Americans who demanded answers. 

‘How long did the FBI know a radical Islamist foreign national with a criminal record was in the country? Were they working with him or his associates? How did this person get a visa? Did he slip through the cracks because they were too busy surveilling your conservative grandma?’ 

Neither the FBI nor Homeland Security has commented.