U.S. Homeland Security identifies suspect who rammed his vehicle into Michigan synagogue

Michigan police officials provide an update of a shooting at a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan urging residents to shelter in place.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. — The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues 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 personnel after ramming his vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Mich., and driving through a hallway, authorities said. The vehicle caught fire after crashing into the building.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant 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 incident “deeply disturbing and tragic” and said the FBI is leading the investigation.

The agency considers the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” she said at a news conference Thursday. 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, Bouchard said.

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, 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. “We do go into lockdown.”

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.”

Parents raced to retrieve children who were in the synagogue

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 increased security since the start of Iran war

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 far-right 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.

U.S. 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.

He added: “This will not change us. This will not deter us and we will continue.”

Attack brings back memories of prior massacres

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.

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.”

Corey Williams and Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press

Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., contributed.