STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The NYPD announced that the department would be increasing police presence at Jewish religious and cultural institutions in the city as a precaution in the wake of a synagogue attack in Michigan Thursday night.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the department said it has been “tracking” the situation in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
“The NYPD is tracking the situation in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and we are in touch with our law enforcement partners,” the department wrote. “Out of an abundance of caution, and given the overall heightened threat environment, we’re continuing to deploy high-visibility patrols to Jewish religious and cultural institutions in the city.”
Police advised New Yorkers to call 1-888-NYC-SAFE to report suspicious activities.
Michigan synagogue attacked
A man crashed a vehicle into a large Michigan synagogue while armed with a rifle in what federal officials say was an attack targeting the Jewish community, according to the Associated Press.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security after ramming his vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, authorities said. He drove down a hallway before the vehicle caught fire, according to authorities.
Ghazali had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, AP reported.
The synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at its early childhood center were not injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
According to the report, the temple is one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues.
One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Bouchard said. Thirty law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.