March 12 (Reuters) – A suspected man was killed in a confrontation with security personnel after he rammed his truck through the door and into a hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday, with no one else reported seriously injured in the incident, authorities said.
Michigan State Police reported an active shooter incident around 12:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) at the Temple Israel synagogue in the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield. It was not clear from the police’s preliminary information whether the suspect was actually armed with a weapon.
Authorities said the suspect was shot, but it was not immediately known whether he was killed by security gunfire or took his own life.
“We cannot say at this time what killed him, but the security of the suspect engaged in gunfire,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters.
Bouchard said the suspect broke through the entrance to the building in his truck and drove the vehicle down the hall before being confronted by security.
“We have no casualties other than one of the security guards who was hit by a car and was taken to the hospital for treatment. That individual should be fine,” the sheriff said.
NO INJURY TO CHILDREN OR STAFF
No children or staff were injured in the incident, authorities said.
Citing several law enforcement sources, CNN reported that a large amount of explosives were found in the back of the suspect’s car. Bouchard said investigators are still searching the vehicle.
Temple Israel, which has more than 12,000 members, operates an early childhood center that serves children as young as six weeks old, according to its website.
Local news media reported that the kindergarten children, some of whom fled to nearby homes, were taken away from the synagogue and put on buses to a nearby location to be reunited with their parents.
Aerial news footage at the start of the incident showed plumes of smoke rising from the roof of the building as swarms of police and fire engines converged on the scene.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X: “FBI personnel are on the scene with partners in Michigan responding to an apparent vehicle crash and active shooter situation at Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit posted a message on its Facebook page that its affiliated agencies are “currently on precautionary lockdown” in response to the Temple Israel incident.
Jewish organizations across the United States have been operating under heightened security since February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes against Iran, sparking an escalating war in the Middle East.
“We talked for two weeks about the potential, unfortunately, of what would happen. So there was no lack of preparation,” Bouchard said on CNN. “All the Jewish establishments in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around them until we figure this out.”
The incident occurred at a time of heightened concern about rising anti-Semitism in the US. According to FBI data, anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for nearly two-thirds of religiously motivated hate crime incidents in the past two years.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in Michigan and cannot be tolerated,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “In moments like these, it’s more important than ever that we come together, stand with our neighbors, confront hate whenever it arises, and build stronger communities.”
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Scott Malone, Chris Reese, David Gaffen and Lisa Shumaker)
