An assailant was killed during an active shooter situation at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., law enforcement officials confirmed on Thursday afternoon. One other person, a security guard, was injured.

The attack is being investigated as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, confirmed in a Thursday evening press conference. 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to Jewish Insider that the attack was carried out by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali.

Ghazali, 41, was born in Lebanon and entered the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. He was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to DHS. 

Armed security stationed at the synagogue engaged with Ghazali inside a vehicle that “breached the facility by driving into it,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. Shots were fired and Ghazali was killed inside the vehicle, according to Bouchard, who added that “we can’t say what killed him at this point, but security did engage him with gunfire.”   

Bouchard said that a security guard who was knocked unconscious during the incident and hospitalized “should be OK.” 

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle likely intentionally crashed into the synagogue, causing the building to catch fire. Smoke could be seen billowing from the roof in early live news footage.

Temple Israel, one of the largest Reform congregations in the U.S., runs a preschool, which was in session at the time of the incident. In a message to members, the synagogue said that “all students and staff are safe” and had been evacuated to a nearby location.

Bouchard added that he and other law enforcement leaders had been preparing for a scenario such as this for the last two weeks, around the start of the U.S. and Israeli war in Iran. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as well as the three main Democratic candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat to represent the state, swiftly issued statements on X addressing the incident. 

“Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace,” said Whitmer. “Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan.” 

“Before our very eyes, a Temple in West Bloomfield is under attack,” said Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who represents the district where Temple Israel is located. “Like many of you, I am getting reports in real time. To everyone in Michigan’s 11th district, continue to follow the guidance of local law enforcement. To the Jewish American community in Michigan and beyond, we stand with you.”   

“I’m hearing the first reports of an incident at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield,” said state Sen. Mallory McMorrow “Please stay away from the area and listen to direction from first responders as we wait to learn more.” 

“The rise in antisemitism is not abstract. It’s not left or right. It is here. It is in our state, our community, just miles from my own house. It is in our neighborhoods, our schools, our houses of worship. Enough,” she said in a follow-up statement later on Thursday afternoon. 

Far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said that he was “horrified to hear the reports of an active shooter at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. Please stay safe if you’re in the area. This kind of violence has no place in our communities.” 

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, the front-runner to succeed Stevens in Congress, said in a statement that he has “been in contact with local officials to monitor the active shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and am praying for everyone inside …  We’re living through an incredibly agonizing time in our Jewish community. We deserve safety in our synagogues, schools, and everywhere else. This rise in targeted hate and violence is untenable.” 

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said she “grew up not far from” Temple Israel. 

Slotkin declined to “get ahead of the police” as “law enforcement are still securing the scene.” She urged the public to “listen to the warnings that they’re putting out.”

Amid rising antisemitism in Michigan, Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, said during a Thursday evening press conference that he was not “shocked or surprised” by the attack.