Michigan Synagogue Shooter Was Brother of Hezbollah Commander, Israel Says

The person who drove a vehicle into a Michigan synagogue on March 12 was the brother of a recently killed Hezbollah commander, according to the Israeli military.

“Intelligence reveals: Brother of terrorist behind U.S. synagogue attack was a Hezbollah terrorist,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in all caps in a March 15 post on X.

“Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the Badr Unit.”

The IDF said the Hezbollah commander’s unit launched hundreds of rockets toward Israeli citizens during the war, which started on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel teamed up to strike the Iranian regime in Operation Epic Fury.

“Ibrahim was eliminated in an [Israeli Air Force] strike on a Hezbollah military structure last week,” the IDF added.

Law enforcement said on March 12 that Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was armed as he drove his truck into a synagogue in a Detroit suburb.

Once his truck was in the building, he drove it down the hall before he engaged in gunfire with security, law enforcement said.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard revealed that “something ignited” inside of the car, causing it to go up in flames and send a large black cloud of smoke into the air.

The 41-year-old suspect was found dead in his car. Bouchard said it was not clear if he died from gunfire or the blaze.

The FBI called the March 12 incident in West Bloomfield Township a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

None of the synagogue’s staff, teachers, or 140 children at its daycare center were injured, but a lead security guard was hit by the suspect’s car and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At least 30 law enforcement officers who responded to the scene were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Ghazali was born in Lebanon and moved to the United States in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and became a citizen in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump called the attack a “terrible thing” while speaking on March 12.

“I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in the Detroit area,” Trump said.

​Jewish Federation of Detroit CEO Steven Ingber told reporters that he was “shocked” but not surprised that the attack happened.