A man who targeted a synagogue in Michigan with a car filled with explosives has been pictured for the first time.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue where children were attending preschool on Thursday and was shot dead in a confrontation with security personnel.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters: "We can't say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire."
He added one security officer was struck by the man's vehicle and knocked briefly unconscious.
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Ayman Mohamad Ghazali has been identified as the shooter
|REUTERS
All 140 children were safely evacuated from the preschool and accounted for, the synagogue said.
Ghazali was born in Lebanon and became a US citizen in 2016.
A local Lebanese official told NBC News several members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon last week.
He reportedly arrived in the US in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a US citizen and was granted US citizenship five years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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The FBI said it was leading the investigation of what special agent Jennifer Runyan called a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community."
The man crashed his truck through the doors of the synagogue and drove the vehicle down a hallway before a security officer fired at him, according to Bouchard.
The attacker was killed during the confrontation.
Authorities said it was not immediately clear whether he took his own life or was shot dead by security personnel.
Police rush to scene as active shooter reported at synagogue in Michigan | REUTERS
Antisemitic incidents have spiked in recent years in the US, with anti-Jewish incidents accounting for nearly two-thirds of 5,300-plus religiously motivated hate crimes since February 2024, according to FBI data.
Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. "Antisemitism has no place in Michigan and cannot be tolerated,."
"In moments like these, it’s more important than ever that we come together, stand with our neighbors, confront hate whenever it appears, and build stronger communities."
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had been briefed on the Michigan attack, calling it terrible.
"I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in the Detroit area following the attack on the Jewish synagogue earlier today," he said.
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