US

A SWAT team and FBI officers have been called to a hostage situation in a Texas synagogue, where a man is reportedly holding members of the congregation.

The incident at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville is ongoing.

Dara Nelson, a police sergeant for Colleyville Police, said there were no injuries to report and that officers had evacuated the area.

“The FBI negotiators are the ones who have contact with the person in the building,” Sgt Nelson said, adding there was “no threat to the general public”.

Audio of the initial hostage incident was caught on a morning Shabbat service which the synagogue was livestreaming on Facebook.

Although no images of inside the building were broadcast, the audio recorded a man shouting angrily, according to multiple reports.

The Daily Beast reported that the man – who made references to weapons and ammunition – spoke with a British accent and said that he believed he was going to die.