The White House says the man who took hostages at a synagogue in Colleyville on Saturday had been allowed entry into the United States because his name was not on any federal watch lists. Malik Faisal Akram flew from England to New York before arriving in Texas.
"Our understanding is that he was checked against U.S. government databases multiple times prior to entering the country, and the U.S. government did not have any derogatory information about the individual in our systems at the time of entry," said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. "We're certainly looking back at what occurred to learn every possible lesson to prevent attacks like this in the future."
People in Akram's hometown in England have said he had mental health issues and had previously been arrested.
While in North Texas, Akram stayed in local homeless shelters. Officials at the Our Calling homeless outreach center say he stayed at their facility on January 2nd when temperatures dropped below freezing.
"Along with hundreds of other people, he came into our building seeking refuge that was created for very vulnerable people," said Our Calling Advancement Director Patrick Palmer, "and as somewhat of a wolf in sheep's clothing - coming in and taking advantage of something that was created for people that can't care for themselves."
He says Akram had minimal, routine interactions with a few staff members and did not appear to speak with any of the other guests staying at the shelter that night.
"When that was all happening, nobody knew who this person was. He identified himself as sleeping on the street," Palmer said, "so he really presented himself as a homeless individual."
Akram was photographed as part of the shelter's client-intake process and some of his movements were also captured on the building's security cameras.
"As soon as we identified that he had been in the building, our first call was to the FBI," Palmer said. "They sent a few people over to review our tapes and download all of our information."
He says that while Akram did not cause any problems while at their facility, it has been troubling for some of their regular clients.
"What a disturbing feeling it is to know that a place where you were seeking refuge...a person like that came in and took advantage of those services," he said. "We're just encouraging the community to stand next to our homeless friends and provide support to them."
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