The man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues before being fatally shot by security has been identified as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, federal officials said.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Ghazali entered the United States in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016.
Authorities said Ghazali drove a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, outside Detroit, on Thursday, crashing through a hallway. The vehicle caught fire after the impact.
Temple security officers engaged the attacker and shot him, West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said. Ghazali was later found dead inside the vehicle.
Federal investigators described the incident as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. The FBI is leading the investigation.
Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the attack “deeply disturbing and tragic” and said investigators have not yet determined a motive.
About 140 children were inside the synagogue’s early childhood center at the time of the crash, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, but none of them or the staff were injured.
One security officer was struck by the vehicle and briefly knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries. Authorities said about 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation after the vehicle caught fire inside the building.
Temple Israel has about 12,000 members and is one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States.