The suspected armed attacker who authorities say rammed his car into a Michigan synagogue was a Lebanese-born American citizen.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the driver as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old man ​who was born in Lebanon and became a US citizen in 2016.
Several members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon last week, a local Lebanese official told Sky’s partner network NBC News.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was originally from Mashghara, a town in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. Israeli airstrikes on the town killed two of his adult brothers as well as his niece and nephew, the official said.
The two brothers were known to be members of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, the official said. But it was not clear what role they played in the organisation or if they were the target of the strike.
The attack on the Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, happened when 140 children were present at its early childhood centre.
The vehicle caught fire in the incident, near Detroit, which sparked a major police response.
None of the children, teachers or other synagogue staff were injured in the attack, local officials said.
The suspect drove a car through the doors of the synagogue on Thursday and exchanged fire with security before he was shot dead.
One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
The suspect reportedly arrived in the US in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a US citizen and was granted US citizenship five years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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US President Donald Trump said he wanted “to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community”.
“I’ve been briefed, fully briefed. It’s a terrible thing,” he added.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the synagogue praised its security personnel “who are truly heroes” for neutralising the gunman.
“Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm,” it said.
Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began last month.
