(AFP) – An unidentified assailant was dead after ramming his pickup truck on Thursday into a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, and causing a blaze, police said. Security guards opened fire on the attacker at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters.
“He breached the building, drove down the hall, and he was engaged by security,” Bouchard said. “We can’t say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire.” The sheriff said the assailant appeared to be alone in the vehicle and police dogs were checking the car for explosives. “It’s been complicated because there’s some fire,” he said. “We’re through an abundance of caution, clearing the vehicle for IEDs or any explosives.”
The sheriff said a security member was injured by the assailant’s pickup truck and was being treated in the hospital. Smoke could be seen billowing from the synagogue after the attack and fire engines were on the scene. Law enforcement officers and emergency personnel raced to the area in large numbers soon after the incident, which comes amid heightened tensions nationwide over the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer condemned what she called the “heartbreaking” attack. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace,” she said. “Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had been briefed about the situation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was “shocked by the attack.” “We are in contact with the Jewish community and local authorities,” Saar said on X. “Antisemitism must never be allowed to rear its ugly head.” The sheriff said law enforcement had been on high alert since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran nearly two weeks ago. “We’ve been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening,” Bouchard said. “So there was no lack of preparation.”
“All Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out,” the sheriff said. The Jewish Federation of Detroit said Jewish agencies were in precautionary lockdown. “We ask community members to stay away from the area at this time.”
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