Authorities called the attack a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community."
A man is dead in Michigan after ramming a vehicle into one of the nation’s biggest synagogues that also houses an early childhood center, according to local officials.
The suspect drove into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township outside Detroit, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. Synagogue security staff opened fire on the vehicle, and it ignited. Police said temple security "neutralized the threat."
Department of Homeland Security officials identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Lebanon. Hundreds in the country, which hosts major Iran ally Hezbollah, have died under Israeli bombardments amid the war on Iran.
Temple leaders confirmed no synagogue members were killed in the attack, and authorities successfully evacuated the temple's school.
"As you have no doubt heard, Temple Israel was the victim of a terrorist gunman who was confronted and neutralized by our security personnel who are truly heroes," synagogue staff said in a statement. "Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm."
The head of synagogue security was struck by the suspect’s vehicle and was hospitalized but is expected to recover, Bouchard said. No other injuries were reported.
"Everyone is safe," synagogue staff said in the statement. "All 140 students in our Susan and Harold Loss Early Childhood Center, our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe."
According to Bouchard there is no active threat to the community, and local police lifted a shelter-in-place advisory at around 3 p.m. local time.
The attack on the suburban Detroit Jewish house of worship comes amid heightened global tensions as a result of the U.S., Israel war with Iran. President Donald Trump and ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched strikes on Feb. 28 that killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the longtime head of Iran’s theocratic regime.
Over the course of nearly two weeks of fighting, over a thousand people have been killed in Iran and hundreds throughout the Middle East as the U.S. and Israel trade strikes with Iran and its allies.
Tears and smiles as toddlers, parents leave Temple Israel after attack
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, parents rushed to the scene to look for their children who had been attending school at the temple.
"I'm just trying to get to my baby," said one mother to an officer on scene, her eyes red and voice frantic. The officer let her through.
Three school buses full of children were safely escorted by police to safety at nearby Shenandoah Country Club. The children held hands with one another and their teachers.
“I got you, buddy,” one teacher told a child.
More than 100 adults and children – toddlers in their parents' arms and on their shoulders – were also seen walking away from Temple Israel at about 3:30 p.m. local time.
Children reached out to touch the firetrucks present. Some parents and children laughed, and a pair of parents even high-fived. Some parents cried, too.
What do we know about the suspect?
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Ghazali was born in Lebanon on Jan. 4, 1985.
The 41-year-old became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Feb. 5, 2016, in the final weeks of the Obama administration.
Homeland Security said Ghazali entered the U.S. in 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of an American citizen.
First responders were called to the scene of the attack at about 12:20 p.m., West Bloomfield Police Department Chief Dale Young said at an evening news conference Thursday.
Authorities said the suspect rammed his vehicle through the building into a synagogue hallway where security staff fired on him. Young said temple security firing on the suspect "neutralized the threat."
The suspect’s vehicle caught fire, and around 30 law enforcement officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, Bouchard said. Video from the scene shows smoke billowing from the building.
According to authorities, over 100 federal agents are investigating. Among them are bomb and cellphone technicians, FBI Detroit’s Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said. Bomb-sniffing dogs were at the scene.
What do we know about the motive?
Authorities declined to reveal evidence related to the investigation, including what they know about the suspect and what prompted the attack.
"Obviously it’s a hateful, terrible thing but what drove this person into action, that has to be determined by the investigation," Bouchard told reporters.
But authorities confirmed a few details.
Runyan called the attack a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community." Bouchard suggested the attack came in response to global affairs: "Obviously what happens around the world sometimes affects us."
The attack happened at Temple Israel, a synagogue about 25 miles northwest of Detroit that describes itself as the "the nation’s largest Reform synagogue," with more than 12,000 congregants. It dates back to 1941, according to its website.
In January, the FBI led an active shooter training with Temple Israel's clergy and staff members, according to a post on X from the bureau's Detroit field office. The training allowed staff and clergy to "practice the decision-making process of the Run, Hide, Fight principles and take necessary actions for survival," the post said.
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting during an unrelated news conference.
"I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in Detroit area following the attack on the Jewish synagogue early today," Trump said at a Women's History Month event. "I’ve been briefed – fully briefed – and it’s a terrible thing but it goes on. We’re going to be right down to the bottom of it. It’s absolutely incredible that things like this happen."
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a statement thanked law enforcement for their swift action.
"This is heartbreaking," she said. "Michigan's Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace. Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan."
Contributing: Bart Jansen of USA TODAY and John Wisely, Andrea May Sahouri, Nushrat Rahman and Darcie Moran of The Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network
