Reports of the rescue of hostages and the killing of the hostage-taking gunman in Collingwood, Texas are extremely opaque as to how the hostage-taker, identified as Malik Faisal Akram, was actually killed.

Official statemeents simply say that he was dead, with absolutely no details, raising a lot if questions.

According to one report, “One hostage who had been held was released during the stand-off and the three others got out when an FBI Swat team entered the building, authorities in the US said.”

Questions raised include the following:

Why was it necessary to kill the hostage-taker?

Was he simply executed after the hostages had escaped or been released?
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It may seem to some that, given the heinous nature of the crime, these details are unimportant. There was a similar disinterest in the details of the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2010, after he had apparently been brought under control.

These little details are important.

An entire civilization built on the rule of law depends on them.