Ayman Ghazali aka Ayman Ghazaleh of Dearborn Heights, Michigan id as Bloomfield Township synagogue ramming suspect. Suspect had shared images of relatives in Lebanon (where he hailed originally) killed during an Israel strike the night before launching Temple Israel strike.
Ayman Ghazali also being spelt Ayman Ghazaleh of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, has been identified as the suspect in a vehicle ramming and shooting at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township early Thursday.
Ghazaleh, 41, a restaurant worker according to the site was armed with a rifle and killed in Thursday early afternoon’s incident which happened just on 12.30 p.m.
Drop Site News cited a source familiar with the investigation who said Ghazaleh, a Muslim man lived in the Dearborn Heights area and was originally from Lebanon and had recently lost family members in an Israeli airstrike there. The source said Ghazaleh had posted images of his relatives on WhatsApp in the hours before the attack.
NEWS: The man who rammed his explosives-laden truck into a Michigan synagogue today was named Ayman Ghazaleh, according to a source familiar with the situation. Ghazaleh posted photos overnight of his family members, including young children, who were killed in a recent Israeli… pic.twitter.com/KEBeJPAZsD
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) March 12, 2026
West Bloomfield synagogue suspect id as Lebanese Muslim national naturalized U.S citizen
While officials had yet to verify Ghazali as the suspect, social media was awash with reports identifying the Dearborn Heights local as the suspect along with claims Ghazali was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese national first entered the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. He was naturalized into a U.S. citizen in 2016 during the Obama administration, FOX News reported.
Detroit News reported a search was expected to be executed on his Dearborn Heights home Thursday, according to one of the sources, but there was no activity there when The News visited on Thursday evening. The residence is about 25 miles from Temple Israel, where the attack took place.
The FBI said the incident is being investigated as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community, though investigators have not yet determined a motive.
🚨 DEVELOPING: CAR CRASHES INTO JEWISH SYNAGOGUE IN MICHIGAN – ACTIVE SHOOTER REPORTED
• Vehicle deliberately driven into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, officials say
• Reports indicate shots were fired after the crash
• The vehicle caught fire after striking the… pic.twitter.com/lAtCANZZb5— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 12, 2026
Temple Israel synagogue attack motive probed
The attack happened at Temple Israel, one of the nation’s largest Reform Jewish synagogues, in suburban Detroit, federal authorities said.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the attacker deliberately drove an explosives laden truck through a set of doors and into an interior hallway, while opening gunfire, at which point something inside the vehicle ignited. The vehicle burst into flames after crashing into the synagogue. While security guards fired at the vehicle, officials had yet to determine the cause of death.
‘We can’t say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire,’ Bouchard told press, adding that the attacker may have died from other causes. The synagogue later praised its security personnel for stopping the threat and said staff followed training protocols to keep children safe in an adjoining preschool next to the synagogue.
One guard was injured but is expected to recover fully. No students, staff, congregants, or other individuals were harmed.
Law enforcement agencies have increased patrols and security presence at other Jewish institutions in the region as a precaution.
West Bloomfield is a suburb of Detroit, located about 25 miles northwest of the city.
