A U.S. official who provided a copy of the photo says the man who rammed a truck into a Michigan synagogue and opened fire on March 12 sent an image of himself holding the AR-style rifle investigators believe he used to a relative in Lebanon.
The picture depicts Ayman Mohamad Ghazali dressed in black with a black-and-white scarf, holding what appears to be a semiautomatic rifle fitted with a scope. Yellow Arabic script, including verses from the Qur’an and other wording referring to vengeance, was superimposed on the image. One verse translated in part speaks of believers who remain true to their pledges to God; additional text at the bottom references retribution. The official said the photo was taken and edited before the attack and was sent to the relative on the same day Ghazali drove into the synagogue.
Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived and worked in Dearborn Heights, came from a southern Lebanese town that U.S. and regional officials consider a Hezbollah stronghold. Sources in Lebanon told CBS News that four of his relatives there were killed in an Israeli drone strike on March 5; two of those relatives were reported to have been members of Hezbollah’s rocket unit. Israeli authorities later confirmed the death of one brother, Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali, whom they described as a Hezbollah commander.
The assault took place at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, one of the country’s largest synagogue congregations. Young children were inside the building during the incident. No students or staff were hurt, but a security guard was struck by Ghazali’s truck and knocked unconscious. The ramming sparked a fire inside the synagogue, and several first responders were treated for smoke inhalation.
The FBI is treating the incident as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. At a briefing the day after the attack, Jennifer Runyon, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, said Ghazali’s truck became stuck in an interior hallway, blocking his exit. Authorities described a shootout between Ghazali and two security guards before Ghazali died by suicide. Runyon also said Ghazali had been in the synagogue parking lot for roughly two hours before driving into the building.
In the days before the attack, Ghazali purchased more than $2,000 worth of fireworks from a local retailer. Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan told CBS News a store employee questioned the large, off-season purchase, and Ghazali said the fireworks were intended to “celebrate the end of Ramadan.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Ghazali entered the United States legally in 2011 after being sponsored by his then-wife and became a U.S. citizen in 2016. Ghazali called his former wife shortly before the attack; she alerted police afterward, telling them he was not stable.