Suspect Dead After Truck Rams Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in FBI-Labeled Antisemitic Attack

Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was struck by a deliberate vehicular attack on Thursday afternoon when a suspect drove a truck through the doors of the synagogue in what the FBI described as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. The suspect was killed, and no congregants or students inside the building lost their lives.

The Department of Homeland Security identified the attacker as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen who entered the country in 2011 on a spousal immigrant visa and obtained citizenship in 2016. According to a source within Michigan's Lebanese American community, Ghazali had suffered a devastating personal loss approximately ten days before the attack when an airstrike on his family's village in Lebanon reportedly killed two of his brothers and two of their children, while severely injuring a sister-in-law. Those close to him said he had withdrawn from daily life and stopped working in the wake of the tragedy.

Shortly before the attack, Ghazali reportedly called his ex-wife and told her to care for their children, a statement that alarmed her enough to contact police and relatives. Law enforcement sources indicated that mortar-type explosives were found inside the vehicle, which caught fire upon impact with the building. One security officer struck by the truck was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and roughly 30 law enforcement personnel were treated for smoke inhalation. Temple Israel, recognized as the largest Reform synagogue in the United States, had 140 students on its premises at the time, all of whom were confirmed safe. The FBI is leading the investigation.