Man who rammed vehicle into Michigan synagogue was naturalized citizen from Lebanon

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon, attacked Temple Israel.
• Ghazali rammed his vehicle into the Michigan synagogue, prompting a security response.
• The FBI is investigating the attack as a targeted act against the Jewish community.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. — The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation's largest Reform synagogues Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was fatally shot by security officers after driving through a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, in a vehicle that then caught fire, authorities said.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office, called the crime a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community" and said at a news conference Thursday that the FBI is leading the investigation.

Investigators have not determined a motive yet.

"What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation," said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

None of the synagogue's staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured, Bouchard said.

In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said temple security officers "engaged the individual and neutralized the threat."

The suspect was found dead inside his vehicle, according to Bouchard.

Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was standing at the hallway where the crash happened. She said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.

"When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad," Cohen said.

She said a classroom was near where the car rammed the synagogue and, in addition to the children, who were as old as 4, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.

"Thankfully, we have had many active shooter drills, and our staff is prepared for these situations," she said.

Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents, calling them the "true rock stars of the day."

About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.

Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel's day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.

"There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock," she told the AP. "I was hoping that it was a false report."

Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about all that's going on in the world.

"You never think that this is actually going to happen to you," she said. "But I know that it's — it's just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran."

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.

The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a conservative protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.

And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.

President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a "terrible thing."

Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, lamented the fact that his organization had to train and prepare for an attack.

"I'd love to say that I'm shocked, that I'm surprised, but I'm not," he said during a news conference Thursday.

Oakland County is Michigan's second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.

"This is heartbreaking," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. "Michigan's Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace."

It was the second attack at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by "anti-religious beliefs" against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the Church of Jesus Christ's United States Northeast Area Presidency said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands with all people of faith who face violence because of their beliefs.

"Having experienced a similar attack in nearby Grand Blanc, church members express their love, support, and deep concern for all who are affected by today's act of violence at a synagogue in West Bloomfield. Houses of worship should be sanctuaries of peace, prayer, and community. We pray for healing, comfort, and peace for all who are suffering," the statement said.

Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website, which says the synagogue is "passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe" and that its mission is to "create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism."

The Jewish Federation of Detroit briefly advised all Jewish organizations in the area to lock down.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.

"We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution," said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. "No one should dwell in fear because of who they are."

Contributing: Durkin Richer, Ed White, Todd Richmond, John Seewer, Eric Tucker and Hallie Golden

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The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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