Suspect shot dead after crashing truck into Detroit-area synagogue

By Steve Gorman

March 12 (Reuters) - A male suspect was killed in a confrontation with security personnel after crashing his truck through the doors and into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday, with no one else reported seriously injured in the incident, authorities said.

Michigan State Police reported an active shooting incident at about 12:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) at Temple Israel Synagogue in the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield. It was unclear from preliminary briefings by law enforcement officials whether the suspect was actually armed with a gun.

Authorities said the suspect was shot dead, but whether he was killed by gunfire from security or took his own life was not immediately known.

"We can't say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters.

Bouchard said the suspect breached the entrance to the building in his truck and drove the vehicle down the hall before being confronted by security.

"We have no victims, other than one of the lead security people who was hit by the car and was taken to the hospital for treatment. That individual should be okay," the sheriff said.

NO CHILDREN OR STAFF INJURED

No children or staff were injured in the incident, authorities said.

CNN, citing multiple law enforcement sources, said a large amount of explosives was found in the back of the suspect's car. Bouchard said investigators were still searching the vehicle.  

Temple Israel, which has more than 12,000 members, runs an early-childhood center that serves children as young as six weeks old, according to its website. 

Local news media reported that children from the daycare center, some of whom had escaped to nearby homes, were ushered away from the synagogue and taken on buses to a nearby location to be reunited with their parents.

Aerial news footage at the outset of the incident showed plumes of smoke rising from the roof of the building, as swarms of police and fire department vehicles converged on the scene.

FBI ON SCENE

FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X: "FBI personnel are on the scene with partners in Michigan and responding to the apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation out of Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan."

The Jewish Federation of Detroit posted a message on its Facebook page saying its affiliated agencies were "currently in precautionary lockdown" in response to the Temple Israel incident.

Jewish organizations throughout the United States have been operating under heightened security since U.S. and Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, sparking an intensifying war across the Middle East. 

"We've been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening. So there was no lack of preparation," Bouchard said on CNN. "All Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out."

The incident comes amid heightened concerns about growing antisemitism in the U.S. Over the last two years, anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for nearly two-thirds of religiously-motivated hate crime incidents, according to FBI data. 

“Antisemitism has no place in Michigan and cannot be tolerated," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. "In moments like these, it’s more important than ever that we come together, stand with our neighbors, confront hate whenever it appears, and build stronger communities."

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Scott Malone, Chris Reese, David Gaffen and Lisa Shumaker)