The FBI announced Monday that the recent assault on a West Bloomfield, Michigan synagogue was a “Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism” specifically aimed at the Jewish community and Michigan’s largest Jewish temple.
Ayman Ghazali, a US citizen of Lebanese origin, drove a pickup truck into the synagogue on March 12 while over 100 children were at school inside.
According to authorities, Ghazali waited over two hours in the synagogue parking lot before driving his truck deep into the structure, striking a security officer, and ultimately getting it stuck in a hallway.
Synagogue security officers engaged Ghazali in a gunfight, during which he took his own life inside the truck. The resulting commotion led to the truck’s engine catching fire, severely damaging the building. Jennifer Runyan, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Detroit, stated that the truck contained more than $2,000 worth of commercial fireworks and approximately 35 gallons of gasoline, which Ghazali intended to use to “amplify” the explosion.
Apart from Ghazali, no other fatalities occurred. A senior security officer at the temple sustained injuries after being struck by the vehicle.
Runyan confirmed there is no indication Ghazali acted with accomplices.
Jerome Gorgon, US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, stated that if Ghazali had survived, he would have faced charges for offering material support to Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based, Iranian-backed terrorist organization.
Gorgon further noted that Ghazali’s actions were motivated by Hezbollah’s propaganda.
“Ghazali operated under the guidance and authority of Hezbollah,” Gorgon declared. “His aim was to murder others, not only to end his own life.”
Following the assault, US officials disclosed that federal databases listed Ghazali as having ties to individuals identified as “known or suspected terrorists” linked to Hezbollah.
Just one week before the attack, an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed several members of Ghazali’s family, including two brothers, during the second week of a conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran.
According to the Israeli military, his brother, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, served as a Hezbollah commander overseeing weapons operations for the Iranian proxy group’s Badr unit.
The FBI reported that Ghazali started planning the assault several days prior, with the intensity of his preparations increasing on March 9. An analysis of his online activities since January revealed frequent searches for pro-Hezbollah and Iranian news sources, alongside videos concerning firearms and ammunition.
From March 9 onwards, the FBI indicated that Ghazali closely monitored speeches and live reports featuring Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, as well as news regarding an Iranian fatwa—a religious decree on Islamic law—advocating for a complete jihad against the US military.
Runyan stated that he also investigated Jewish cultural, educational, and religious establishments across the Detroit metropolitan area, examined various pages detailing upcoming events at Temple Israel, and looked up particular terms like “the largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan,” “Orthodox synagogues,” and “Israelis near me.”
On that same day, after two individuals refused to sell him a firearm, Ghazali purchased an AR-style rifle, ten magazines, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition from a gun shop in Dearborn Heights, as per Runyan.
Runyan mentioned that he engaged in target practice with the new firearm the following day and acquired the fireworks.
On the 11th, the day before the incident, dozens of water containers were delivered. Runyan noted that Ghazali promptly began filling them with gasoline, making four separate trips to gas stations to avoid suspicion. He also purchased two torch lighters, which investigators suspect were used to ignite his truck.
Runyan reported that on the day of the attack, Ghazali transmitted multiple videos and messages to his sister, who is thought by authorities to reside in Lebanon, “confirming his Hezbollah-influenced beliefs.”
The FBI stated that ten minutes before crashing his truck into the synagogue, Ghazali sent his sister two videos in Arabic. In these, he claimed to be at the largest assembly of Israelis in Michigan, mentioned his car was booby-trapped, and declared his intent to forcefully enter and begin shooting people.
According to Runyan, Ghazali was recorded saying, “If God wills it, I will slay as many of them as I am able.”
Updates have been made to this report.