The maniac who drove a vehicle full of explosives through a preschool at a Michigan synagogue in an antisemitic attack Thursday has been identified as a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, federal officials announced.
The wannabe car bomber, who died after smashing through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, was ID’d as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, the Department of Homeland Security told The Post.
Ghazali, who is married to a US citizen, entered the US through Detroit in 2011 and became a US citizen himself in 2016 under the Obama administration, acording to DHS.
“He entered the United States on May 10, 2011 at Detroit Metropolitan International Airport on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen after alien relative and fiancé petitions filed in December 2009 were approved in April 2010. He applied for naturalization on October 20, 2015 and was granted U.S. citizenship on February 5, 2016 under the Obama administration.”
Smoke rises from the Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, after an armed wannabe car bomber plowed a vehicle full of explosives through its preschool entrance on March 12, 2026. via REUTERS
A woman gathers children as law enforcement responds to the synagogue. AP
The armed driver was found dead inside the car, which was loaded with mortar shells, after the temple’s security opened fire when they plowed through the entrance, police and sources said.
The explosive-laden truck sparked a blaze, with aerial footage from local outlets showing smoke wafting from the building in the aftermath as authorities swarmed the synagogue.
Miraculously, no students or staff members were harmed in the attack and were swiftly evacuated from the building.
Police said the lead security guard was struck by the car and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he is expected to recover.
Miraculously no students or staff members were harmed in the attack and were swiftly evacuated for the building. AP
Law enforcement evacuating parents with children from the synagogue and preschool. AP
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed that security and the suspect exchanged fire. AFP via Getty ImagesAt least 30 emergency responders are also being treated for smoke inhalation at local hospitals, police said.
The suspect’s cause of death remains unclear.
“We can’t say what killed him at this point,” Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard told reporters.
“But security did engage the suspect with gunfire.”
A mother carrying her baby out of Temple Israel after the attack. REUTERS
An FBI member outside of Temple Israel. APWhile authorities said it’s too early to determine a motive, the FBI confirmed the incident is being treated as a targeted attack on the Jewish community.
Oakland County, outside of Detroit — where Temple Israel is located — has one of the largest Jewish populations outside of the New York area.
It is also located about 20 miles north of Dearborn, which has the largest Muslim and Arab population in the US.
The FBI is leading the investigation.
