A man who allegedly sold a weapon in the Dallas area to the gunman who took four hostages in a North Texas synagogue earlier this month has been charged with a federal firearm crime, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
Henry “Michael” Williams, 32, was arrested on a state warrant in Texas on Monday, officials said. Williams is being charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department. Williams previously had been convicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted possession of a controlled substance, officials said. Williams’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities say Malik Faisal Akram held four hostages on Jan. 15 in a standoff that lasted around 11 hours at Colleyville’s Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue northeast of Fort Worth. The FBI has said it is considering the incident a terrorist act and hate crime.
Williams initially told investigators he remembered meeting a man with a British accent but that he couldn’t remember his name, the Department of Justice said. Akram was a British citizen. After looking at a photo of Akram, Williams confirmed that he sold a handgun to him at an intersection in South Dallas, two days before Akram attacked the synagogue, the press release said. Williams allegedly told officers that Akram said the gun – a semi-automatic Taurus G2C pistol – was going to be used for “intimidation” against someone who owed him money. The weapon was later recovered from the scene of the standoff, officials said.
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SOURCE: ABC13; The Texas Tribune, Reese Oxner
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