An armed assailant rammed a truck into a Jewish synagogue in Michigan and died at the scene after a shootout with security personnel. U.S. authorities have classified the incident as a terrorist attack and are currently investigating.
At about 12:30 p.m. on the 12th (local time), the incident occurred at Temple Israel, a Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, about 30 kilometers from Detroit, Michigan. Michael Bouchard, sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan, said at a news conference, "The suspect rammed a vehicle into the doors of the synagogue and came in along the corridor," adding, "A fire broke out inside the building." After exchanging gunfire with responding security personnel, the suspect died at the scene. One officer was struck by the vehicle, injured, and was being treated at a hospital.
The Detroit suburbs, in Michigan's largest city, are home to many Jewish residents. The scene of the incident, Temple Israel, is the largest Reform Jewish synagogue in the United States and was established in 1941. It has about 12,000 congregants. Inside are a kindergarten and a museum displaying Jewish historical artifacts.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war, a series of terrorist attacks have continued across the Americas and Europe. On the 10th, the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, came under gunfire, and on the 9th, an explosion occurred in front of a Jewish synagogue in Belgium.