Man who crashed pickup into Michigan synagogue was inspired by
Iran-backed Hezbollah, FBI says
[March 31, 2026]
By COREY WILLIAMS
DETROIT (AP) — An armed man who crashed his pickup truck into a major
Detroit-area synagogue earlier in March was inspired by the Iran-backed
militant group Hezbollah and had sought to inflict as much damage as he
could on Jewish people, the FBI said Monday.
Ayman Ghazali made a video just minutes before the attack at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield Township, saying he wanted to “kill as many of
them as I possibly can” in the large Jewish congregation, said Jennifer
Runyan, head of the FBI in Detroit, who announced the new information.
Ghazali, 41, sat in the parking lot for a few hours on March 12 before
smashing his F150 through doors and into the hallway of an early
childhood education area, striking a security guard. He then exchanged
gunfire with another guard before fatally shooting himself. No one else
among the 150 children and staff was injured.
It was a “Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the
Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan," Runyan
said.
He sent two final videos to a sister overseas about 10 minutes before
launching the assault, she said.
“This is the largest gathering place for Israelis in the State of
Michigan in the United States," Runyan quoted him as saying in Arabic.
“I have booby-trapped the car. I will forcefully enter and start
shooting at them. God willing, I will kill as many of them as I possibly
can."
Assault rifle and a lot of ammunition
The FBI cited videos and other images discovered on Ghazali’s social
media accounts in which he embraced vengeance and Hezbollah’s militant
ideology. Runyan said he searched for Michigan synagogues and Jewish
cultural sites a few days earlier before settling on Temple Israel, even
looking up the time for lunch.
Runyan said there was no way to know whether Ghazali knew children would
be present at the time.
Ghazali bought an AK-style rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition from a gun
store on March 9 and practiced at a shooting range, she said.
His Ford F150 was stocked with commercial-grade fireworks and containers
with more than 30 gallons (113 liters) of gasoline. The truck caught
fire after barreling into the synagogue, Runyan said, though there was
no explosion.
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Detroit-area U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon noted that Hezbollah in
1983 drove a massive truck bomb into U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut,
Lebanon.
“That is exactly what this terrorist did a few weeks ago in our
backyard,” Gorgon said, speaking along with Runyan.
Family ties to Hezbollah
The FBI did not release the entirety of Ghazali's videos and
materials but showed screengrabs and quotes from several of the
recordings.
Ghazali, who lived in Dearborn Heights, came to the U.S. in 2011 on
an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was
granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of
Homeland Security.
His family ties to Hezbollah were publicly disclosed soon after the
synagogue attack. Israel’s military said a brother, Ibrahim Ghazali,
was a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon who was killed there on March
5. A Detroit-area mosque held a memorial service for the brother and
other family members who also died.
Ghazali’s ex-wife had called police in Dearborn Heights around the
time of the synagogue attack to warn that he seemed distraught and
suicidal after losing family during the Israeli airstrike, according
to 911 audio. The strike came days into the Iran war with Israel and
the U.S. that began Feb. 28.
Founded in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war, Hezbollah initially was
devoted to ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel
withdrew by 2000, but Hezbollah has continued its battle and seeks
Israel’s destruction. The U.S. has designated Hezbollah as a
terrorist group since 1997. Hezbollah is also a political party with
lawmakers in the Lebanese parliament and a presence in most Lebanese
governments for decades.
Temple Israel, which has more than 12,000 members, is part of Reform
Judaism, the largest branch of the religion in North America, which
emphasizes progressive values such as social justice and gender
equality. The congregation is the second-largest, according to the
Union for Reform Judaism.
The attack was the latest in a spate of recent attacks targeting
religious buildings — which has intensified fear among religious
leaders and worshippers worldwide.
___
Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed to this
story.
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