During an economic speech in Michigan on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance noted that the venue was just half an hour away from Temple Israel, the reform congregation targeted by a gunman, who rammed his vehicle into the synagogue on March 12.
“I think that all of us ought to keep these folks in our prayers,” Vance said. “When something happens to any member of our American family, and this particular incident happened to Jewish members of our American family, it is something that all of us have to stand up and say, ‘It’s disgusting. It’s unacceptable, and we are not going to tolerate it in the United States of America.’”
The vice president addressed an audience at a manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., some 15 miles northeast of Temple Israel, which Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, attacked while 106 children were inside. Ghazali shot and killed himself after exchanging fire with security guards, the FBI said.
“I hope all the folks from Temple Israel know that we’re praying for them. We’re thinking about them,” Vance said. “From the president of the United States, the vice president, and everybody else, ‘We love you, and we’re proud of how you’ve handled this particular situation,’ because it is tough.”
The vice president also spoke about the synagogue’s head of security who helped stop Ghazali.
“There was a police veteran, who was a security guard by the name of Danny Phillips,” he said. “Danny Phillips was one of the heroes that day. He was injured protecting the people in that community, and I hope all of us will give a big round of applause and a prayer to Danny Phillips.”
“He’s the very best of this country, and sometimes you see the very best on our worst days,” Vance said.
