Over 100 Jewish children under the age of 5 were inside Temple Israel when a suspect drove a pickup truck through the front doors and opened fire at the students, teachers, rabbis and security guards on March 12.
The gunman, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove through the building until the truck got stuck between hallway walls, according to Jennifer Runyan, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit office.
“We did hear the sound of shooting. We smelled smoke,” said Arianna Gordon, a rabbi at the synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, according to CNN.
Ghazali then exchanged gunfire with a second security guard after hitting the first one with his vehicle on the way inside. During the gunfight, Ghazali “suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said.
“During the chaos, the truck’s engine compartment caught fire. Two sources familiar with the matter said Ghazali’s body was badly burned,” said Hanna Park, a CNN National News Desk Reporter.
Other than Ghazali, there were no other fatalities. All students, educational staff and administrative staff remained unharmed. One injured security officer was taken to the hospital, but did not sustain any fatal injuries.
“The incident didn’t make me reconsider attending UMich in the slightest, just because I know they have such a vibrant and active Jewish community,” said GOA senior Marley Fischer, who will attend UM as a freshman next year. “I was more distressed to hear that a community I will be surrounded by was, and is still going through a hard time.”
Three other GOA seniors who have committed to the University of Michigan next year, Brandon Schall, Josh Berelowitz and Ashton Weiss, agreed noting that while they followed the news more closely because it happened in Michigan, it did not make them feel less safe.
While “worried as Jews” about the precedent Ghazali set for antisemitic acts, the group says it will not affect their future as Michigan Wolverines.
In contrast, GOA sophomore Salomon Messulan expressed deeper concern about the attack’s impact.
“It makes me scared, because what if this event inspired some other antisemite? What if it happens here in New Jersey to my synagogue?” Messulan said.
GOA sophomore Michael Kreyman said, “With the ongoing antisemitism since October 7th, this bold action could encourage more hateful behavior. We’ve received bomb threats in the past, so I’m really worried about our school specifically.”
Other schools in the area surrounding GOA have seen a rise in antisemitism firsthand.
For Columbia High School in Maplewood, this meant addressing two instances of antisemitic graffiti in the past four months.
One defacement was a “drawing of a swastika” while the other read “Epstein is eating babies #Jewsowntheworld,” according to The Village Green.
“I haven’t seen the graffiti, only heard about it. It made me feel angry and disappointed in today’s society,” said CHS sophomore Rafi Romanowsky.
In response to the rise in antisemitism, Jewish establishments are revamping their security.
Aviva Tilles, Hebrew School Director at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, said, “We have continued to look at our security needs and continue to make changes based on the ever evolving world that we live but always with the end goal of making it clear that we will not be afraid. While we may have made changes on what it looks like to enter the building, the programming, education and ritual experiences inside the building still remain the same.”
Security will surely be heightened, but the Jewish community is showing no signs of fear of antisemitism.
