DETROIT (AP) — A man who crashed his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue earlier in March was carrying out an attack inspired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the FBI reported on Monday.
Ayman Ghazali, 41, from Dearborn Heights, recorded a video prior to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, expressing desires to harm as many individuals as possible, stated Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit.
On March 12, Ghazali spent hours in the parking lot before forcefully driving his truck through the closed doors, striking a security guard. A subsequent exchange of gunfire occurred with another guard before Ghazali shot himself, leading to a fire from the commercial-grade fireworks and gasoline inside his truck.
Emergency responders evacuated the facility, ensuring no injuries among the 150 children and staff present at the time.
Ghazali’s ex-wife alerted authorities about his distress, hinting at suicidal tendencies after losing family members in recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. This violent episode followed the outbreak of renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Reports cite that Ghazali’s brother, Ibrahim Ghazali, was a Hezbollah commander killed during the airstrikes, raising additional layers of complexity to Ayman's motivations. National intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard indicated Ghazali had personal family associations with the militant group.
Founded in 1982 amidst Lebanon's civil war, Hezbollah was established to oppose Israeli actions in Lebanon and is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. The group possesses a dual identity as both a military force and a political entity within Lebanon.
The attacked Temple Israel is affiliated with Reform Judaism, a progressive branch of the religion advocating for social justice and gender equality. As one of the largest congregations in North America, it has over 12,000 members since its establishment and relocation in the 1980s.
This incident contributes to a worrying trend of attacks on religious sites, amplifying fears across multiple faith communities globally, as awareness around the security of such institutions intensifies.
