Rabbi Jen Lader, of Temple Israel, who was at a nearby community centre moments after the incident, described the moments after the attack as “sheer terror”.
“American Judaism is such these days that every synagogue is a target. Every synagogue is aware that we need to take precautions to keep our people safe,” she told the BBC, adding that the temple had trained in preparation for similar incidents.
“It’s a nightmare that we have to have an armed full-time security team in order for people to feel safe coming to synagogue,” she said.
During her remarks on Friday morning, Governor Whitmer said antisemitism had been rising in the US.
“We will fight this ancient and rampant evil. We will stand together as we do it,” Whitmer said, adding: “We must lower the rhetoric in this state and in this country.”
The Jewish community, particularly in the West Bloomfield suburb of Detroit where Temple Israel is located, is now on edge, she said.
Kids aged from zero to five years old were targeted in the attack, Whitmer said, noting that Temple Israel – one of the largest reform Jewish synagogues in the US – evacuated more than 100 young children from its preschool.
Michigan Senator Elisa Slotkin, who grew up in the area and said she spent a lot of time around the temple while growing up, echoed that sentiment at the news conference.
Slotkin, a Democrat, said that whether antisemitism is coming from the left or the right of the political spectrum, the public has a responsibility to call it out so that it does not escalate into violence.
“The Jewish community suffers ten times the number of hate crimes than any other community in this country,” the senator said. “So it is an epidemic.”
Until the country pushes back on antisemitism, “we’re going to see incidents like this continue to proliferate”, she added.