A Lebanon-born man who lost two brothers and two nephews in an Israeli airstrike roughly 10 days ago rammed an explosives-laden truck into America's largest Reform synagogue on Thursday, where 140 children were inside an early childhood centre.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove through the entrance of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, armed with a rifle, before security guards engaged and killed him. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed it is investigating the attack as a 'targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.'
All 140 children, along with teachers and staff, survived without injury. The synagogue credited security personnel and FBI-led training conducted just six weeks earlier with preventing any casualties.
Family Killed in Airstrike Days Before Attack
A source in Michigan's Lebanese American community told CBS News that Ghazali experienced severe trauma after an airstrike on his family's village in Lebanon about 10 days earlier killed two of his brothers and two of their children. The strike also left one of his sisters-in-law severely injured and hospitalised.
Ghazali had stopped working and spent time alone at his Dearborn Heights home following the deaths. In the hours before Thursday's attack, he posted images of his deceased relatives on WhatsApp. He also called his ex-wife and told her to take care of their children, which alarmed her and prompted her to contact the police and relatives.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Ghazali entered the US on 10 May 2011 on an immigrant spouse visa. He applied for naturalisation in October 2015 and became a citizen in February 2016.
140 Children Safe After Security Neutralises Threat
West Bloomfield police received a 911 call at 12:19 p.m. local time reporting an active shooter situation. Ghazali had driven his truck through the synagogue's doors and down an interior hallway when security confronted him with gunfire.
Two law enforcement sources told reporters that mortar-type explosives were found in the vehicle. The truck caught fire after something ignited inside, and Ghazali's badly burned body was found in the wreckage.
One security guard was knocked unconscious by the vehicle and hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries. Temple Israel's executive director, Sharon Kaluzny, described him as 'someone who is not Jewish who absolutely celebrates his relationship with the Jewish community.' Thirty first responders were also treated for smoke inhalation after the building filled with smoke.
FBI Training Six Weeks Ago Credited With Saving Lives
On 30 January, FBI Detroit led an Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness training session for Temple Israel's clergy and staff. The course used scenario-based exercises designed to help participants practise decision-making under extreme pressure.
'All of the training that we do is, sadly, necessary, but we saw today that it paid off,' Kaluzny said. 'Everyone knew what to do. The teachers are absolutely heroes.'
Rabbi Arianna Gordon, the synagogue's director of education, said teachers kept children calm by snuggling them and singing songs throughout the ordeal. 'They were being kept calm and distracted throughout the entire afternoon,' she said.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed he had texted the temple's head of security just two days before the attack. 'What happens around the world sometimes affects us, so we have to think about it and be prepared for it,' he said.
Violence Follows US-Iran War
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who had visited Temple Israel last year to discuss hate crimes and domestic terrorism, called Thursday's attack an act of domestic terrorism that was 'totally predictable'. The incident occurred two weeks after the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran on 28 February.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke with Jewish leaders in Detroit and called the attack 'a grave and serious incident that follows a series of attacks on Jewish institutions around the world.'
President Donald Trump called the attack a 'terrible thing' and vowed to 'get right down to the bottom of it.'
