None of the synagogue\u2019s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood centre were injured, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.<\/p>\n
The attacker drove through a set of doors and into the hallway where something in the vehicle ignited, Bouchard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was traveling with purpose down the hall, from my look at the video,\u201d Bouchard said.<\/p>\n
In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. Some 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.<\/p>\n
The synagogue has multiple security officers, he said, and at least one fired at the suspect, who was found dead inside his vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t say what killed him at this point but security did engage the suspect with gunfire,\u201d the sheriff said, adding that it was possible the attacker killed himself or died some other way.<\/p>\n
![\"FBI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773385449_434_fbi-director-kash-patel-said-agents-are-on-the-scene-of-an-a-5ZRHSIKVRFAR7OXN3N7YFWOLRA.png\")
<\/p>\n
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents are on the scene of an \u201capparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation\u201d at the synagogue. (Source: Reuters)<\/p>\n
Bouchard said that he has reached out to communities in the areas surrounding the temple that has \u201csignificant houses of worship\u201d and large Jewish populations to offer resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis community takes care of each other,\u201d Bouchard said.<\/p>\n
He credited preparation and training for the swift response to the threat, saying that he had contacted the head of security for the temple just two days before the attack.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted on Facebook, the synagogue praised its security personnel \u201cwho are truly heroes\u201d for neutralising the gunman.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Parents raced to retrieve children who were in the synagogue<\/p>\n
About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Centre.<\/p>\n
Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel\u2019s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,\u201d she told the AP. \u201cI was hoping that it was a false report.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about all that\u2019s going on in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never think that this is actually going to happen to you,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I know that it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Law](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773385449_785_law-enforcement-respond-to-a-call-at-temple-israel-synagogue-J5DMHOJ7WRETHLB2LWEJDDVL3Y.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michgan. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Synagogues increased security since the start of Iran war<\/p>\n
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the US and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.<\/p>\n
And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a \u201cterrible thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Law](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773385450_335_law-enforcement-escort-families-with-children-away-from-the-NLES6NEYGRBFZHNY6DOP56ORJQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue in Michigan (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Attack brings back memories of prior massacres<\/p>\n
Oakland County is Michigan\u2019s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is heartbreaking,\u201d Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. \u201cMichigan\u2019s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the second attack at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by \u201canti-religious beliefs\u201d against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n
Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website, which says the synagogue is \u201cpassionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe\u201d and that its mission is to \u201ccreate a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jewish Federation of Detroit briefly advised all Jewish organisations in the area to lock down.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,\u201d said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. \u201cNo one should dwell in fear because of who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An attacker armed with a rifle was killed after ramming his vehicle into one of the nation\u2019s largest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[67,42,43,64,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-327316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}