The attack earlier this month on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was described as “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan,” the FBI said in a news conference on Monday.
The assailant, Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, rammed a pickup truck into the synagogue on March 12, while more than 100 children were attending school inside.
After waiting in the synagogue’s parking lot for more than two hours, authorities said Ghazali drove the truck far into the building – hitting a security officer – before the vehicle became wedged in a hallway.
Security officers for the synagogue engaged in gunfire with Ghazali, who eventually shot and killed himself inside the truck. The chaos caused the truck’s engine compartment to catch fire, resulting in extensive damage to the building. The truck was filled with over $2,000 worth of commercial-grade fireworks and about 35 gallons of gasoline, which he used to “enhance” the explosion, according to Jennifer Runyan, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Detroit.
Fortunately, no one else was killed, but one of the temple’s lead security officers was injured after being hit by the vehicle.
There is no evidence that Ghazali had co-conspirators, according to Runyan.
Had he survived, he would have been charged with providing material support to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, stated Jerome Gorgon, US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Gorgon added that Ghazali was inspired by Hezbollah propaganda to carry out the attack.
“This man acted under Hezbollah’s direction and control,” Gorgon said. “He intended to kill others, not just himself.”
In the days following the attack, US officials revealed that Ghazali was identified in federal government databases as having connections to “known or suspected terrorists” associated with Hezbollah.
A week before the attack, members of Ghazali’s family in Lebanon – including two brothers – were killed in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military reported that one of his brothers, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, was a Hezbollah commander in charge of managing weapons operations in the Iranian proxy group’s Badr unit.
Ghazali began planning for the attack days earlier, with his plans intensifying on March 9. His online activity dating back to January indicated repeated searches for pro-Hezbollah and Iranian news outlets, as well as videos related to gunfire and ammunition.
The FBI disclosed that on March 9, Ghazali closely followed speeches and live coverage involving Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, along with reports about an Iranian fatwa calling for total jihad against the US military.
He also researched Jewish cultural educational and religious centers throughout the Detroit metro area, viewed upcoming events at Temple Israel, and searched for terms such as “the largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan,” “Orthodox synagogues,” and “Israelis near me,” Runyan said.
On the day of the attack, Ghazali unsuccessfully tried to buy a weapon from two individuals before purchasing an AR-style rifle, 10 magazines, and about 300 rounds of ammunition at a gun store in Dearborn Heights. He practiced shooting the new weapon the following day and bought fireworks.
Several water containers arrived the day before the attack, prompting Ghazali to fill them with gasoline in preparation. He also bought two torch lighters, which authorities suspect he used to set his truck ablaze.
Ten minutes before driving into the synagogue, Ghazali sent his sister two videos in Arabic indicating his intentions to enter and start shooting people. He recorded himself saying, “God willing, I will kill as many of them as I possibly can,” according to Runyan.
