Michigan synagogue that came Under attack This week, when an armed man drove his car into the building, the building had for months been beefing up its security apparatus by appointing an experienced police lieutenant as its security director and conducting active shooter training.
The enhanced security, which came in response to a rise in anti-Semitism and other attacks on places of worship, is credited with saving lives in an event that ended only in the attacker’s death.
An armed private security guard returned fire at the attacker after he opened fire through the windshield of his car in a corridor inside the building. When the car drove off, there were 140 students inside at the Early Childhood Education Center. All of them were safe.
The car’s engine caught fire, and the gunman, Ayman Mohamed Ghazali, a Lebanese-born American citizen, eventually used his own weapon to shoot himself, according to Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office.
US Senator Elissa Slotkin said of the building’s security: “If they had not done their job almost perfectly, we would be talking here today about a massive tragedy with the children gone.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer added: “These heroes put themselves in harm’s way and engaged a suspect.”
One of the rabbis of Temple Israel said “it’s just a miracle” that none of its members were hurt.
“Unfortunately, the entire Jewish community, no matter where we are in the world, we have to plan for things like this,” Jennifer Kaluzny, rabbi of Temple Israel, told CNN.
The effort to beef up security at Temple Israel, outside Detroit, came as several houses of worship underwent similar efforts, as leaders worked to fortify facilities in the wake of… Deadly attacks. Synagogues around the world have increased protection measures after the United States and Israel launched a war with Iran.
The synagogue last June hired a former police lieutenant, Danny Phillips, to lead its armed security guards as head of security, with the temple saying it was taking a proactive step “in response to the evolving realities facing Jewish communities.”
Phillips has served in law enforcement for nearly three decades, including more than 20 years as an advanced firearms instructor for his department, according to the website of a local college where he teaches a police academy course on responding to active shooters.
In January, Temple Israel staff and clergy participated in active shooter prevention and preparedness training led by an FBI official, according to the synagogue’s social media accounts.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said Thursday that he contacted the temple’s security chief just two days before the attack. He credited comprehensive preparation before the attack as the reason for the lack of casualties.
Ron Ammann, a safety team member at Crosspoint Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, not far from the temple, is still recovering after being shot in the leg by a man. He tried to attack the Christian church Last June. The gunman was killed by another team member before he could enter Sunday mass.
Aman, who was armed, said he took his grandson to his wife when he heard a woman screaming: “There is a man with a gun.”
“When you sign up for the safety team, you have to be willing to stand up and fight honestly, instead of running the other way,” said Aman, 64, who has a metal rod in his lower right leg.
“My alertness is at a higher level than it was before,” he said. “The events that happened at the synagogue bring it back to the forefront. And I’m definitely saddened by all of that.”
CrossPointe Church is located 30 miles (48.2 kilometers) from the synagogue. But Pastor Bobby Kelly said he and his staff sheltered in place Thursday when they heard about the attack. The police even walked around the church.
“When you hear about something happening, you don’t know where it’s going to go next,” Kelly said.
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Izaguirre reported from Albany, N.Y. White reported from Detroit.