Suspect dead after ramming vehicle into Michigan synagogue: police – National

The suspect in an attack on a synagogue in Michigan is dead, authorities said Thursday, after the man crashed his vehicle into the largest Reform synagogue in the U.S. and engaged in gunfire with security officers.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the suspect’s pickup truck breached the front doors of the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township outside Detroit, which started a fire. Smoke could be seen billowing from the synagogue’s roof.

The suspect continued to drive “with purpose” down the hallway of the synagogue before encountering security officers who opened fire, Bouchard said.

The sheriff said the suspect was found dead inside the vehicle but could not say how he died, noting the chaotic scene and that it was possible the attacker killed himself or died some other way.

He said no one inside the synagogue was injured other than one security officer who was struck by the vehicle and knocked unconscious. That officer is expected to be okay and was taken to hospital.

“No kids or no staff were injured whatsoever,” he said.

Bouchard would not confirm if the suspect was armed or if there were explosives inside the vehicle.

“Something ignited in the vehicle” that started the fire, he said, adding bomb squads and dogs were on scene.

Temple Israel released a statement on Thursday afternoon confirming that no one had been physically harmed in the attack, including the 140 students who were in the early childhood learning center when the vehicle barreled in.

The statement credited security personnel who “confronted and neutralized” the driver, and said that teachers used established protocols to keep the children safe.

The statement also expressed gratitude for the Michigan community that came forward immediately following the attack to support members of the synagogue, including the Shenendoah Country Club that sheltered and fed staff, children and parents amid the chaos.

“What incredible neighbors we have. What incredible police force we have,” the message read.

U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House event marking Women’s History Month that he had been “fully briefed” on the attack and expressed love to the Michigan Jewish community.

“It’s a terrible thing, but it goes on,” he said. “It’s absolutely incredible that things like this happen.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier Thursday that agents were on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s office cleared the building and about a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning center inside the building after getting approval from police. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement she was tracking the developments.

“This is heartbreaking,” she said.

“Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace. Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan. I am hoping for everyone’s safety.”

Temple Israel calls itself the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, with 12,000 members. according to its website. It has an early childhood education center and offers educational programs for families and adults.

The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”

The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.”

Michigan State Police said in a post on X that troopers were increasing patrols at other places of worship in the district.

Bouchard said Oakland County had been engaged with state law enforcement “for weeks” about general threats against Jewish institutions, and that the security team at Temple Israel was involved in planning discussions and training.

He said there had been “a lot more integrated communication” over the past two weeks, amid warnings of attacks inspired by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran that began with airstrikes on Feb. 28.

“There was no specific chatter about any institution or facility in Oakland County, but they were all on alert,” he said.

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the Iran war began, adding to increased fears of antisemitic violence since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Since that assault and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, there has been a notably sharp increase in attacks on Jewish institutions globally, including in Canada.

Police are investigating three separate incidents of shots being fired at synagogues in the Greater Toronto Area in the past two weeks, as well as the U.S. consulate in Toronto.

In a similar incident to what happened in West Bloomfield Township, an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year in October. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.

“We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”

—Additional files from the Associated Press

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