Armed man crashes into Michigan synagogue, fatally shot by security

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was fatally shot by security personnel after ramming his vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, and driving through a hallway, authorities said. The vehicle caught fire after crashing into the building.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the incident “deeply disturbing and tragic” and said the FBI is leading the investigation.

The agency considers the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” she said at a news conference Thursday. Investigators have not determined a motive yet.

“What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

None of the synagogue’s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured, Bouchard said.

In the minutes after the ...