The U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect, who is accused of driving a car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., and shooting at security guards, as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, who was born in Lebanon.
Ghazali entered the United States on May 10, 2011. As the husband of a U.S. citizen, he obtained an immigrant visa and became a U.S. citizen in 2016, the department said.
CBS News reported that Ghazali lost relatives in an airstrike in Lebanon 10 days prior.
In addition to the head of security at the temple, who was hospitalized when the gunman hit him with a car that he drove into the Reform synagogue, 30 police officers were taken to the hospital due to smoke inhalation from a resulting fire, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Mike Bouchard, the sheriff, said at a press conference on Thursday that no children or temple staff were hurt in the attack.
The suspect, who attacked the Detroit area synagogue, the Reform movement’s largest in North America, was killed following a shootout with guards.
“West Bloomfield officers arrived on scene in under five minutes. Temple security officers engaged the individual and neutralized the threat,” Dale Young, chief of the West Bloomfield Police Department, said at the press conference.
“Our officers, combined with area agencies, cleared the building multiple times and safely and successfully evacuated all children and staff,” he said.
“We know there’s evil in the world, and we know they only have to get it right once, and sometimes they do,” Bouchard said.
“They may not come on anybody’s radar, and they show up, but what happens when they show up—that’s where training and preparation kick in,” the sheriff said. “The security staff did an amazing job.”
Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge at the FBI Detroit Field Office, said that “we are leading the investigation right now as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
“There is one subject involved in this incident, who is now deceased,” she said. She wouldn’t say more about the suspect to “protect the integrity of this investigation.”
“I’d love to say I’m shocked or I’m surprised, but I’m not,” said Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, of the attack. “This is something that we train for.”
“We will get through this together. We will get through this stronger, and we will continue to be loud and proud of being Jewish,” he said. “This will not change us. This will not deter us.”
Rabbi Arianna Gordon of Temple Israel said that “we’re going to be processing all of this in the days and weeks to come.”
Police, the temple’s security team and teachers “ensured that all of our children remained safe and calm throughout the entire day and got every single child safely reunited with their parents this afternoon,” Gordon said. “For that, I can’t express my gratitude enough.”
