By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A man who drove a pickup into a Detroit-area synagogue in March was carrying out an attack inspired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the FBI said Monday.
• The incident occurred March 12 at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
• Before the attack, the suspect recorded a video stating an intent to “kill as many” people as possible, the FBI said.
• A security guard was struck by the vehicle; no children or staff inside were injured.
• The suspect exchanged gunfire and died at the scene; federal investigators are examining motive and influences.
DETROIT, MI — Federal authorities said Monday that a man who crashed his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue earlier this month did so in an attack inspired by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant organization, according to FBI officials.
Paul Sancya/AP
The incident occurred March 12 at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, where the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Ayman Ghazali of Dearborn Heights, sat in the parking lot for several hours before driving his Ford F-150 through the synagogue’s closed doors and into a hallway outside an early childhood education area.
Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said the suspect made a video before the attack stating he wanted to “kill as many of them as I possibly can,” and investigators found the vehicle stocked with fireworks and containers of gasoline.
A security guard was struck by the truck as it entered the building and another guard exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who later died by a self-inflicted gunshot, the FBI said. No children or staff among the approximately 150 people inside at the time were reported injured.
The FBI continues to investigate the full circumstances and influences behind the attack, with efforts focusing on online activity and potential extremist motivations linked to foreign organizations.