Gunman Slams Truck Into Michigan Synagogue, Dies After Shootout With Guards

Security personnel engaged in gunfire with an armed man who rammed a truck through the doors of a suburban Detroit synagogue on Thursday afternoon and started driving it down a hallway. The events unfolded at Temple Israel, in West Bloomfield, the largest reform synagogue in America.The vehicle used in the attack is registered to a naturalized American citizen from Lebanon who lives at Dearborn, Fox News reported citing unnamed law enforcement sources.The Oakland County sheriff, Mike Bouchard, said the attacker was dead and a security guard had been hit by the truck and knocked unconscious. The guard was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive.The assailant’s truck caught fire during the incident. Smoke filled the hallway and was seen pouring out of the roof of the building as the incident unfolded. Mr. Bouchard said the first police officers who went into the building needed to wear gas masks because of the smoke.Mr. Bouchard said it was unclear whether the attacker died of a gunshot wound or from the fire. He was not immediately identified.The building also contains a school. No children or staff were injured and all were evacuated to be with families at a nearby JCC. Mr. Bouchard said extra security was being added at other Jewish facilities in the area as a precaution.Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene. Authorities were going through the vehicle. CNN reported that investigators found what appeared to be a large amount of explosives in the vehicle.The attack on the synagogue comes amid heightened concern about threats to Jewish houses of worship since the joint American and Israeli attacks on Iran.The FBI’s director, Kash Patel, said that counterterrorism and intelligence teams would be put on high alert and all security assets needed would be mobilized to face any threats facing the homeland. The National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security, however, have not issued any recent statements regarding potential attacks.President Trump called the attack “a terrible thing” in brief remarks during a White House event. “I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in Detroit,” Mr. Trump said.“This is heartbreaking. Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace. Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement posted on X.

Gunman Slams Truck Into Michigan Synagogue, Dies After Shootout With Guards

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