After a car crashed into the Temple Israel synagogue outside Detroit, the Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as a naturalized citizen from Lebanon.
Security officers shot and killed Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, after he crashed into the synagogue, starting a fire, on March 12. As The Dallas Express reported, investigators found suspected explosives in his vehicle.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Ghazali arrived in the United States in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.
Officials granted him citizenship in 2016.
The synagogue’s preschool was in session at the time of the attack, but no children or staff members were injured, according to NBC. Though the car struck one security guard, roughly 30 first responders were treated for smoke inhalation.
Investigators were looking into the attack as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” said FBI-Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan in a press conference.
The night of the synagogue attack, authorities reportedly raided Ghazali’s home in Dearborn Heights. A Facebook account by the same name as the suspect, based in Dearborn, features posts about Lebanon and conflict in the Middle East.
Previously shared pro Hezbollah material on his socials. Dearborn is a radicalization hotbed. Hope the feds are keeping more than a close eye on it. https://t.co/pICtJD3qNR pic.twitter.com/lAFebFCWeM
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) March 12, 2026
Ghazali reportedly lost four relatives when Israel launched an airstrike on the southern Lebanon town of Machgharah on March 5, according to a Lebanese official and Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun, per NBC.
“Earlier today, we learned that the individual responsible for the incident that took place at Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield was a resident of Dearborn Heights,” Baydoun wrote on Facebook. “Earlier this month, he lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Baydoun called to stand against “rising hate and senseless violence.”
“I urge residents to stay aware and vigilant, especially as we gather during these sacred final days of Ramadan,” Baydoun said. “Let’s continue to care for one another and pay attention to anything that feels out of place.”
