WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN — Ayman Mohamad Ghazali rammed his truck into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, around 1:35 p.m. on Thursday. The FBI is investigating the incident as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

The 41-year-old suspect waited in his truck for about two hours before the attack. He fired at security guards through his windshield after the vehicle became jammed in a hallway inside the synagogue. Security guards exchanged fire with the gunman.

Ghazali had large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of flammable liquid in the bed of his truck. The contents of his truck ignited during the attack, and the vehicle's engine compartment caught fire. Ghazali died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during the gunfight.

No staff or children at the synagogue or its attached school were injured. One security guard was injured and was expected to recover. Around 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, "We will fight this ancient and rampant evil. We will stand together as we do it." Whitmer said the attack was antisemitism. "We must lower the rhetoric in this state and in this country," Whitmer said.

Temple Israel evacuated more than 100 young children from its preschool. Rabbi Jennifer Lader said, "It's a nightmare that we have to have an armed full-time security team in order for people to feel safe coming to synagogue." "American Judaism is such these days that every synagogue is a target. Every synagogue is aware that we need to take precautions to keep our people safe," Lader said.

Ghazali was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon who came to the U.S. in 2011. He was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016. He had no criminal history or registered weapons.

Ghazali lost two brothers, a niece, and a nephew in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon in early March. The airstrike occurred in the eastern Lebanon town of Mashgharah on March 5 and killed four people. The airstrike hit the home as family members were having their fast-breaking meal during Ramadan.

Security video from a Phantom Fireworks store in Livonia, Michigan showed Ghazali buying $2,250 worth of fireworks on March 10. Temple Israel is one of the largest Reform Jewish synagogues in the United States.