Temple Israel synagogue attack: FBI providing update after gunman drove truck into building
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - More details about the Temple Israel synagogue attack are expected Monday afternoon.
The FBI will hold a press conference at 3:15 p.m. Monday. Watch live above.
On March 12, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali drove his truck through the West Bloomfield building while dozens of young children and staff were inside. After a shootout with security, Ghazali fatally shot himself.
The backstory:
Ghazali, 41, was armed and had a large quantity of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of flammable liquid believed to be gasoline at the time of the attack.
Daycare classes with children 5 years old and younger were being held at the time. No students or staff of the synagogue were injured except for a security guard who was hit by the truck and knocked unconscious.
"I would like to commend the teachers and the staff who successfully evacuated the children during this attack," Runyan said.
The Dearborn Heights man sat in the parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon, before ramming his truck into the southeast end of the synagogue at 12:19 p.m. striking a security guard in the process, said Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, FBI.
Runyan said that Ghazali's truck was jammed into the hallway, and he could not get out. The man then started shooting through the windshield. He then traded shots through the back window with a security guard.
"At approximately 12:22 p.m., a second security officer engaged Ghazali in a gunfight from the front of the vehicle, and soon thereafter, in Ghazali's vehicle the engine compartment catches on fire," Runyan said. "At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali suffers a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
"In the bed of the truck, we found large quantities of commercial grade fireworks and several jugs of flammable liquid we believe to be gasoline, some of which has been consumed in the fire."
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Dig deeper:
The motivation behind the attack is still under investigation but the Dearborn Heights mayor released a statement last night that Ghazali had lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack at their home in Lebanon.
Officials said Ghazali was born in Lebanon in 1985 and entered the US on May 10, 2011, on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.
The Source: Previous reporting was used in this story.
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Michigan synagogue attack being investigated by FBI as targeted act of violence against Jewish community
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