Michigan synagogue attack was Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism, FBI says

By Cindy Von Quednow, Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — The attack earlier this month on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan,” the FBI said in a news conference Monday.

The assailant, Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, rammed a pickup truck into the synagogue on March 12, as more than 100 children were attending school inside.

After waiting in the synagogue’s parking lot for more than two hours, authorities said, Ghazali drove the truck far into the building – hitting a security officer – before the vehicle became wedged in a hallway.

Security officers for the synagogue began exchanging gunfire with Ghazali, who eventually shot and killed himself inside the truck. During the chaos, the truck’s engine compartment caught fire and caused extensive damage to the building. The truck was filled with over $2,000 of commercial-grade fireworks and about 35 gallons of gasoline, which he used to “enhance” the explosion, said Jennifer Runyan, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Detroit.

No one else was killed. One of the temple’s lead security officers was injured after being hit by the vehicle.

Ghazali acted alone, officials say

There is no evidence that Ghazali had co-conspirators, Runyan said.

Had he lived, he would have been charged with providing material support to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, said Jerome Gorgon, US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Gorgon added Ghazali was inspired by Hezbollah propaganda to carry out the attack.

“This man acted under Hezbollah’s direction and control,” Gorgon said. “He intended to kill others, not just himself.”

In the days after the attack, US officials said Ghazali was located in federal government databases as having connections to “known or suspected terrorists” associated with Hezbollah.

A week prior to the attack, members of Ghazali’s family in Lebanon – including two brothers – were killed in an Israeli airstrike as the US and Israel entered its second week of conflict with Iran.

The Israeli military said one of his brothers, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, was a Hezbollah commander in charge of managing weapons operations in the Iranian proxy group’s Badr unit.

Planning intensified days earlier

Ghazali began planning for the attack days earlier, the FBI said, with his plans intensifying on March 9. A review of Ghazali’s online activity dating to January showed repeated searches for pro‑Hezbollah and Iranian news outlets, as well as videos related to gunfire and ammunition.

Beginning March 9, the FBI said, he closely followed speeches and live coverage involving Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, along with reporting about an Iranian fatwa – a religious ruling concerning Islamic law – calling for total jihad against the US military.

He also researched Jewish cultural educational and religious centers throughout the Detroit metro area, viewed multiple pages of upcoming events at Temple Israel and searched specific terms and phrases such as “the largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan,” “Orthodox synagogues” and “Israelis near me,” Runyan said.

That day, after two people declined to sell him a weapon, Ghazali bought an AR-style rifle, 10 magazines and about 300 rounds of ammunition at a gun store in Dearborn Heights, Runyan said.

He practiced shooting the new weapon the next day and bought the fireworks, Runyan said.

An order of dozens of water containers arrived on the 11th – the day before the attack – and he immediately started filling them with gasoline, making four trips to gas stations so he would not arouse suspicion, Runyan said. He also bought two torch lighters, which authorities believe he used to set his truck on fire.

On the day of the attack, Ghazali sent his sister, who authorities believe lives in Lebanon, numerous videos and messages “affirming his Hezbollah-inspired ideology,” Runyan said.

Ten minutes before he drove his truck into the synagogue, Ghazali sent his sister two videos in Arabic indicating he was at the largest gathering of Israelis in the state of Michigan, had booby-trapped his car and would forcibly enter and start shooting people, the FBI said.

“God willing, I will kill as many of them as I possibly can,” Ghazali recorded himself saying, according to Runyan.

This story has been updated.

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