This is a developing story.
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — A man armed with a rifle rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest reform synagogues in a Detroit suburb and was fatally shot by security Thursday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff.
The attacker drove through a set of doors and into a hallway where something in the vehicle ignited, the sheriff said.
“He was traveling with purpose down the hall, from my look at the video,” Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
Smoke could be seen billowing from the synagogue, which houses an early childhood center.
“No kids or no staff were injured whatsoever,” Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard. He said one security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
“At least one individual came to the temple. Security saw him, engaged him in gunfire,” Bouchard said during an earlier news conference.
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
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. 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.
On Thursday, the Oakland County Sheriff’s office cleared the building and about a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning center inside. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying she was tracking developments.
“This is heartbreaking,” Whitmer said. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
Temple Israel has 12,000 members. according to its website. It offers educational programs for families and adults.
The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.” WDIV-TV later reported that the organization had lifted its advisory.
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Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., contributed.
