WEST BLOOMFIELD, Michigan, USA. — A man with a rifle who crashed into a Michigan synagogue in what federal authorities called an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official revealed Friday.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security personnel after ramming a vehicle into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, near Detroit, and driving the vehicle down a hallway, which then caught fire, according to authorities.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the country’s largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence directed against the Jewish community.
About 140 people — 106 children and more than 30 staff members — were in the synagogue at the time of the attack, said Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development for Temple Israel. No one was injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
During a press conference Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin praised Temple Israel’s private security for quickly stopping the attack.
“If everyone hadn’t done their job almost perfectly, we would be talking about an immense tragedy here, with dead children,” Slotkin said.
Whitmer urged Americans to “tone down” amid what she called a rising wave of anti-Semitism. He noted that the children who attended school at the synagogue were 5 years old or younger.
“This targets babies who are Jewish,” Whitmer said. “That is anti-Semitism at its worst.”
Ghazali came to the United States in 2011 on an immediate family visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and obtained U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
An Israeli airstrike killed four people in the eastern Lebanese town of Mashgharah on March 5, the Lebanese state agency and the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported. A woman was also injured.
The fallout from the Iran war has spread throughout the Middle East. Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon following the resumption of clashes with the Iranian-backed political-paramilitary group Hezbollah.
A local official in Mashgharah told The Associated Press that two of Ghazali’s brothers and a niece and nephew were killed in the airstrike in their home shortly after sunset as they were eating a meal to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The official, who requested anonymity because he could not speak publicly about the details of the airstrike, told the AP that Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali were killed, along with Ibrahim Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima. Ibrahim Ghazali’s wife was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, the official added.
The official noted that Kassim Ghazali was a well-known football coach and physical trainer, and Ibrahim was a school bus driver in the town.
The official added that Ayman Ghazali’s father was in the United States and returned to Lebanon recently.
In the minutes after the attack, smoke rose from the synagogue. A security officer was struck by the vehicle and was knocked unconscious, but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Bouchard said. In addition, 30 police officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
Cohen was in the hallway where the crash occurred. He described hearing a loud bang and said he grabbed some staff members, ran to his office and locked the door.
“When I heard the crash, I knew it was serious,” Cohen said.
He said the crash occurred near a classroom and that, in addition to the children, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.
Rabbi Arianna Gordon of Temple Israel thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for removing the children safely and reuniting them with their parents.
A dozen parents rushed to pick up their children shortly after authorities cleared the building. Other families gathered at a nearby Jewish Community Center.
Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel daycare, said she received a message from a teacher indicating the children were fine even before she knew what had happened.
“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” he said.
Synagogues around the world have been on alert and beefing up security since the United States and Israel launched missile attacks on Iran on February 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian agents could be planning drone attacks against targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the official residence of the mayor of New York on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
President Donald Trump called the attack “a terrible thing.”
The attack was the second against a place of worship in Michigan in the last year. Last September, a former Marine shot and killed four people at a church north of Detroit and set it on fire. The FBI later indicated that he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Oakland County is the second largest in Michigan, with approximately 1.3 million residents. Most Jewish residents of the Detroit area live there. Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website. ___
Durkin Richer reported from Washington, DC, and Mroue from Beirut, Lebanon. Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Eric Tucker in Washington, DC, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report. ___
This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
