The man who rammed his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue earlier this month carried out an attack inspired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the FBI said Monday.Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, 41, of Dearborn Heights, filmed a video before the attack on Temple Israel, saying he wanted to “kill as many of them as I can,” said Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI in Detroit.She added: “We consider this attack to be a terrorist act inspired by Hezbollah and intentionally targeting the Jewish community and the largest synagogue in Michigan.” He added, “Evidence shows that the attacker was motivated and inspired by Hezbollah’s extremist ideology.”Ghazali was a naturalized American citizen, originally from Mashghara in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Israeli military officials confirmed that two of his adult siblings, as well as his niece and nephew, were killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, and his family ties include his brother Ibrahim Ghazali, who was a Hezbollah commander.
Attack on the Temple of Israel
On March 12, Ghazali sat in the synagogue parking lot for several hours before crashing his Ford F-150 through closed doors in a hallway housing the early childhood education area, striking a security guard.
The car, which was reportedly loaded with fireworks and petrol jugs, caught fire during an exchange of gunfire with security personnel. Al-Ghazali eventually shot himself during the confrontation.First responders quickly evacuated the building, and none of the children and about 150 staff present were injured. Authorities later searched Ghazali’s home and examined his digital activity, noting that he had shared photos of children killed in Israeli airstrikes before the attack.Temple Israel, part of Reform Judaism, the largest branch in North America, is the second largest congregation in the denomination, with more than 12,000 members. Founded in 1941 in Detroit and moved to West Bloomfield in the 1980s, the synagogue emphasizes progressive values including social justice and gender equality.In the wake of the incident, security was heightened at Jewish institutions across Michigan to prevent further attacks.
