Armed Security Stopped Synagogue Terror Attack in Michigan

BREAKING: Car crashes into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, in what police are calling an “active situation.”

According to local reports, a vehicle crashed into the Jewish synagogue before shots were fired.

Oakland County deputies say an individual purposely drove… pic.twitter.com/ys3RvVRnkP

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 12, 2026

On March 12, 2026, a Lebanese-born, naturalized citizen, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, performed a combined vehicle, rifle, and explosive/incendiary attack on Temple Israel. The Temple has a large congregation. It is located at 5725 Walnut Lake Road in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, about 25 miles northwest of Detroit. The 100,000 square foot facility is described by members as making up 1% of Reform Jews in America.  The temple serves over 3,000 families.

Due to the risk of increasing attacks on Jewish Americans, the Temple’s security team had been fortified before the attack. A former police officer and longtime firearms instructor had been hired as head of security. The security team was trained in January on active shooter prevention and preparedness. Reports say the staff and clergy were trained in active shooter prevention by an FBI official. Local law enforcement has since praised the Temple’s security for saving lives and preventing casualties from the attack.

Reports indicate there were 140 pre-school students inside the facility at the time of the attack. The FBI has released a timeline of the attack at a press conference.

9:58 a.m. Ghazali drove a gray Ford F-150 into the Temple Israel parking lot

10 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Ghazali remains parked and was not seen interacting with people or other vehicles.

12:15 p.m. Ghazali started driving through the parking lot.

12:19 p.m. Ghazali drives the truck into door 5 in the southeast corner of the building, hitting a security guard on the way in.

12:19 p.m. 911 call received by police.

12:20 p.m.  The vehicle became jammed between hallway walls; Ghazali fires a gun through the windshield.

12:20 p.m.  A security officer engaged Ghazali in a gunfight through the rear window of the vehicle. Ghazali could not extract himself because the truck was jammed in the hallway. 

12:22 p.m.  A second security officer engages Ghazali in a gunfight from the front of the vehicle. Soon after, the vehicle’s engine compartment catches on fire.  At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali shoots himself in the head.

12:24 p.m. Police responders arrive on the scene. 

In the truck’s bed, they found quantities of commercial-grade fireworks. Several Jugs of flammable liquid, which they believed to be gasoline, were also in the truck’s bed. Some of them were consumed in the fire. 

Images from the helicopter video show two anti-vehicle bollards installed in the cement walkway on the day of the attack.  There is another barrier at the west corner of the cement walkway, and a tree about 15 feet from that barrier. There is enough space on either side of the tree for a vehicle to avoid the barriers and hit the doorway. This appears to be the route the attacker chose. The other entrances to the building appear to have been better protected. 

The security team was trained and prepared for a threat, which they dealt with. The attack was over two minutes before the police could arrive at the scene. In active shooter or terrorist incidents, response times in seconds save lives. 

The Temple Israel attack and response show how important it is to have defenders on the scene rather than having police waiting to respond.  Many lives have been saved by an aggressive, violent response to an attack. Many lives have been lost due to the delay on the part of responders. Training and mindset are extremely important. 

Attackers will look for weak points and exploit them. In this case, entrance 5 appears to have been a weak point. An extra two or three anti-vehicle bollards would have made a vehicle attack much more difficult.  Vehicle attacks are becoming more common. Many are effective. Church security teams should re-examine their vehicle protection to see if there are weak points.

Attacks like this are not isolated incidents, and Americans should stay prepared. Reports have suggested Ghazali’s brothers were part of the Iranian paramilitary group Hezbollah and were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. From headlineusa.com:

Ghazali also had brothers in the Iran backed paramilitary group, Hezbollah, according to the Post. Those brothers, Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali, were killed—along with his niece and nephew—by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on March 5, just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ibrahim Ghazali’s wife was also seriously wounded and remains in the hospital.

Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran and has been attacking Israel for decades. The Iranian Theocracy sees Israel as the “little Satan” and the United States as the “great Satan”.  Many adherents to this theology have been allowed into the United States.

ROTC Cadet Stops Terror-Linked Suspect at Old Dominion University

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.