WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. — Federal officials identified the armed man who rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel, one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues, as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, according to information provided to the FBI and other investigators.
Authorities said Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was fatally shot by security officers after he drove through a hallway at the synagogue on Thursday, and the vehicle then caught fire.
The Department of Homeland Security said Ghazali came to the United States in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016.
At a news conference Thursday, Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the attack “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community” and said the FBI is leading the investigation.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said investigators have not determined a motive yet, adding, “What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation.”
Bouchard said none of the synagogue’s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured. He said one security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, and he said 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.”
Bouchard said the suspect was found dead inside his vehicle.
Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door after the crash. She said a classroom was near where the car rammed the synagogue, and that in addition to children—who were as old as 4—more than 30 staff members were inside.
Rabbi Arianna Gordon 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.”
Parents raced to retrieve children soon after authorities cleared the building. About a dozen parents got their children quickly, while 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 received a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened. Jacobs told the AP, “There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” and said, “I was hoping that it was a false report.”
Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about what is going on in the world, adding, “You never think that this is actually going to happen to you.” She said, “But I know that it’s — it’s just terrible,” and said she was “mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.”
As synagogues stepped up security amid a heightened threat environment, the AP reported that the FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. The AP also reported investigators alleged two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday and that the men were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group. The AP said an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, stabbing 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, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, said during a news conference, “I’d love to say that I’m shocked, that I’m surprised, but I’m not.”
The AP reported the attack came as Oakland County’s Jewish community lives largely within the Detroit area. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement that “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
Authorities said the synagogue attack was the second in Michigan within the past year at a house of worship. The AP reported that last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze.
Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website.
In a statement, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred. Myers said, “We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” and added, “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”
This article includes information that was corrected by the original source to show that the church shooting north of Detroit happened in September, not October.