Officials have identified the alleged attacker at Temple Israel as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, saying he was the man who drove a truck into the Michigan synagogue and was eventually killed.
Ghazali was 41, from Lebanon, but a naturalized U.S. citizen. He had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike that hit Lebanon last week, The Associated Press reported.
An official in Mashgharah, which was hit in the bombing, said Ghazali’s two brothers, a niece, and a nephew were killed in the airstrike. The wife of one of his brothers was seriously wounded and is hospitalized, the AP reported.
The motive for the attack on Thursday has not been disclosed, but Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said there was a “nexus” between the Iran war and the attack, according to CNN.
He came to the U.S. in 2011 and was given a visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. He was given citizenship in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Officials said he drove his truck into the house of worship and drove down a hallway before the vehicle caught fire. He also had a rifle with him. Smoke was seen billowing from the church after the attack. A security guard was hit by the truck and was unconscious but did not have life-threatening injuries, the AP reported.
Ghazali was the only person killed, but it is not known how he died, according to CNN. The New York Times reported that guards “neutralized” him, according to police. Ghazali died at the scene.
The FBI is leading the investigation, WDIV reported.
The agency called the attack a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” CNN reported.
In addition to being a synagogue, the temple also houses an early childhood education center that serves 140 students. None of the children were hurt, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
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