A man was killed after ramming his vehicle into the front doors of a synagogue in suburban Detroit on Thursday afternoon, setting off an exchange of gunfire with security officers and a large police response, authorities said.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said a vehicle drove into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield shortly after 12:30 p.m., breaching the entrance before security personnel engaged the suspect with gunfire.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the attack was carried out by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali. Ghazali, 41, was born in Lebanon, entered the US in 2011 and was granted citizenship in 2016, according to DHS.
Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, described it as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
“We believe there is one individual deceased in the vehicle,” Bouchard said, adding that officials have not yet determined the exact cause of death.
A fire ignited in the vehicle during the episode, complicating the scene, he said. Bomb technicians and explosives detection dogs were deployed to clear the vehicle and the building “out of an abundance of caution” for any improvised explosive devices.
No children or staff members inside the synagogue were injured, Bouchard said. One member of the security team was struck by the vehicle and taken to a hospital for treatment. Investigators were working to determine whether anyone else was involved.
Bouchard said some 30 law enforcement officers were taken to local hospitals for smoke inhalation after entering the building, which became which became engulfed in flames when the vehicle caught fire. One of the synagogue’s lead security officials was also hospitalized after being knocked down by the vehicle when it breached the building and is expected to recover.
Temple Israel, which describes itself as the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, said that the 140 students in its early childhood center and their teachers were safe. “Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm,” the synagogue said in a statement on Facebook.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, responded to the incident at the temple.
By midafternoon, officers from multiple agencies had surrounded the property, with medics and tactical teams on scene. Authorities ordered residents within at least a one mile radius to shelter in place while officers searched the large campus and surrounding grounds to ensure there was no continuing threat.
The Jewish Federation of Detroit said it was aware of an “active security incident” at the synagogue and that its affiliated agencies were in “precautionary lockdown.” The Ann Arbor Police Department said it was increasing patrols “out of an abundance of caution” and that there was “no known threat” to its community.
Incidents of antisemitism have risen across the US since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and resulting war in Gaza, with a marked increase in antisemitic actions in 2024, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Law enforcement across the US has been on heightened alert for potential attacks since the end of last month after the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran.
“The Jewish community is forced to spend over $765 million a year to simply protect itself, and there is more the government should do to ensure every vulnerable Jewish institution has the resources to keep safe,” Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer described the news as “heartbreaking” and said the state’s Jewish community should be “able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
“I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in Detroit, the Detroit area, following the attack on the Jewish synagogue early today,” President Donald Trump said in remarks at the White House. “I’ve been briefed, fully briefed, and it’s a terrible thing.”
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
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