The FBI is investigating a car ramming attack on a Detroit-area synagogue as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. The suspect was killed, and a preschool was in session, but no one was injured. The investigation is ongoing to determine the shooter's identity and motive.
The FBI is investigating a car ramming attack on a large Detroit -area synagogue Thursday as a 'targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,' the special agent in charge for the region said. The suspect was killed by security staff at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, officials said.
A preschool was in session at the temple, which is in a suburb around 30 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, at the time of the attack, but no children or school staff were injured, officials said. West Bloomfield Township Police Chief Dale Young said a 911 call at 12:19 p.m. reported 'an active shooter situation at Temple Israel where the individual drove into the building.' 'Temple security officers engaged the individual and neutralized the threat,' Young said at news conference Thursday afternoon. The shooter's identity was not released, and a motive remained under investigation, officials said. 'All of us have thoughts of maybe why this happened,' Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said at the news conference. 'But we don't operate in a world where we can presume something. We have to determine it through investigation.' Temple Israel said 140 students were in its early childhood center at the time of the attack. “We are deeply and humbly grateful to our teachers, staff, security, law enforcement, and Shenendoah Country Club that welcomed us, fed us, and sheltered our staff, teachers, children, and parents. What incredible neighbors we have. What incredible police force we have,” it said in a statement on Facebook. The head of security was taken to a hospital after he was knocked down by the car, Bouchard said. About 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation from a fire at the building that started after the car was driven into the building, Bouchard said. 'That building became engulfed,' he said, adding that how and why the fire started would be part of the investigation. 'It caused terrible, terrible smoke in that part of the building.' The FBI is leading the investigation on the attack it considers 'a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,' said Jennifer Runyan, FBI special agent in charge of the Detroit field division. The incident happened amid rising incidents of antisemitism and in the midst of a war between the U.S. and Israel and Iran, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes late last month. Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, said that Jews would not change their behavior. 'This is a tough time,' Ingber said at the news conference, and he thanked the security staff and police. 'But we will get through this. We will get through this together. We will get through this stronger, and we will continue to be loud and proud of being Jewish. This will not change us.' Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called the attack 'every community's worst nightmare.' 'We saw incredible people step up today to save lives and stop the suspect. Our state is grateful to the security personnel for their bravery and law enforcement who jumped into action to keep students safe,' she said on X. Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue that has 3,500 families, or more than 12,000 people, as members, it says on its website. It was first organized in 1941 and met at a sanctuary in Detroit, but moved to West Bloomfield, a suburb of the city, with the completion of a new building in 1980.
Synagogue Attack Car Ramming FBI Investigation Jewish Community Detroit
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