WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) 鈥� The armed man who into one of the nation鈥檚 largest Reform synagogues Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was fatally shot by security officers after driving through a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, in a vehicle that then caught fire, authorities said.
Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI鈥檚 Detroit field office, called the crime a 鈥渢argeted act of violence against the Jewish community” and said at a news conference Thursday that the FBI is leading the investigation.
Investigators have not determined a motive yet.
鈥淲hat drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation,鈥� said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
None of the synagogue鈥檚 staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured, Bouchard said.
In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said Temple security officers 鈥渆ngaged the individual and neutralized the threat.鈥�
The suspect was found dead inside his vehicle, according to Bouchard.
Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was standing at the hallway where the crash happened. She said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.
鈥淲hen I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,鈥� Cohen said.
She said a classroom was near where the car rammed the synagogue and, in addition to the children, who were as old as 4, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.
鈥淭hankfully, we have had many active shooter drills and our staff is prepared for these situations,鈥� she said.
Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents, calling them the 鈥渢rue rock stars of the day.鈥�
Parents raced to retrieve children who were in the synagogue
About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.
Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel鈥檚 day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.
鈥淭here are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,鈥� she told the AP. 鈥淚 was hoping that it was a false report.鈥�
Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about all that鈥檚 going on in the world.
鈥淵ou never think that this is actually going to happen to you,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I know that it鈥檚 鈥� it鈥檚 just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.鈥�
Synagogues increased security since the start of Iran war
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives on targets in California. Two men to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
And an into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.
President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a 鈥渢errible thing.鈥�
Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, lamented the fact that his organization had to train and prepare for an attack.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to say that I鈥檓 shocked, that I鈥檓 surprised, but I鈥檓 not,鈥� he said during a news conference Thursday.
Attack brings back memories of prior massacres
Oakland County is Michigan鈥檚 second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.
鈥淭his is heartbreaking,鈥� Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. 鈥淢ichigan鈥檚 Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.鈥�
It was the second attack at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by 鈥渁nti-religious beliefs鈥� against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website, which says the synagogue is 鈥減assionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe鈥� and that its mission is to 鈥渃reate a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.鈥�
The Jewish Federation of Detroit briefly advised all Jewish organizations in the area to lock down.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 , said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.
鈥淲e lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,鈥� said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. 鈥淣o one should dwell in fear because of who they are.鈥�
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This story has been corrected to show that the shooting at a church north of Detroit happened in September, not October.
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Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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