Suspect shot dead after crashing truck into synagogue in US state of Michigan

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Michigan - A suspect crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue where children were attending pre-school on March 12 and was shot dead in a confrontation with security personnel, authorities said. No one else was seriously injured.

The attack unfolded during a recent surge in US anti-Semitic incidents and in a period of heightened security concerns around Jewish and Muslim places of worship since US and Israeli forces launched air strikes on Iran on Feb 28, sparking an intensifying war across the Middle East.

Separately, the FBI opened a terrorism investigation on March 12 into an earlier shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, that killed one person and injured two US Army personnel, officials said.

The shooter in that incident also was killed.

Michigan state police reported an active shooting incident at Temple Israel, one of the largest synagogues in the US, at about 12.30pm local time (1.30am on March 13 in Singapore).

It was unclear from early news briefings by law enforcement whether the suspect was armed with a gun, and if so whether he used it in his attack.

CBS News reported the suspect had a rifle, citing two sources, which Reuters could not immediately verify.

“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.

A law enforcement official told Reuters the perpetrator was shot dead.

Whether he took his own life or was killed by security was not immediately confirmed.

Mr Bouchard said the suspect, who was not immediately identified, crashed his truck through the doors of the West Bloomfield synagogue and drove the vehicle down a hallway before a security officer fired at him.

Another security officer was struck by the vehicle and briefly knocked unconscious.

“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.

All 140 students at Temple Israel’s early childhood centre are safe, the synagogue said in a statement.

Spike in anti-Semitic incidents

Anti-Semitic incidents have spiked in recent years in the US, with anti-Jewish incidents accounting for nearly two-thirds of 5,300-plus religiously motivated hate crimes since February 2024, according to FBI data.

“Anti-Semitism 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 neighbours, confront hate whenever it appears, and build stronger communities.”

Jewish and Islamic organisations throughout the United States have been operating under heightened security since the latest outbreak of war in the Mid-East.

“We’ve been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening. So there was no lack of preparation,” Mr 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 United States as a whole has been on edge over the possibility of retaliation by Iran or its proxies, with security scares in recent days at airports in Kansas City and the Washington suburbs, and the arrest of two men accused of igniting homemade bombs at a chaotic anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Mansion in New York City.

CNN, citing multiple law enforcement sources, said a large cache of explosives was found in the back of the suspect’s car.

Mr Bouchard said investigators were still searching the vehicle as well as the building for any explosives or incendiary materials.

US President Donald Trump on March 12 said he had been briefed on the attack, calling it terrible.

“I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in the Detroit area following the attack on the Jewish synagogue earlier today,” he said.

FBI to investigate

A fire of unspecified origins ignited during the violence and filled much of the building with smoke, officials said.

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

The sheriff said the FBI would likely assume primary responsibility for investigating the incident.

Local news media reported that children from the daycare centre, 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.

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