Law enforcement sources shared photos of the Michigan gunman accused of trying to attack toddlers at a Jewish pre-K as it was revealed that two of the suspect's brothers are believed to have been Hezbollah terrorists, according to a report.
A 2019 photo obtained by The New York Post shows Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, staring blankly at the camera with closely cropped hair and a clean-shaven face. In another photo, Ghazali appears with a full beard. In 2019, Ghazali was stopped by authorities after returning to the United States from a trip overseas and when questioned, he said he traveled abroad for a hair transplant.
Terrorist Brothers
Ghazali rammed his car — loaded with explosives— into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Thursday. Security guards quickly responded by opening fire on him, preventing what could have turned into an even more devastating attack, officials said.
No children or staff members inside the school were hurt, but Ghazali died after the vehicle caught fire and burst into flames.
The attack came after two of his brothers, along with a niece and nephew, were killed in airstrikes that struck their home in Lebanon, a local official in Mashgharah told the Associated Press on Friday.
The two siblings were believed to be members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
The relatives were killed shortly after sunset while they were breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a local official told the Associated Press.
It has since been revealed that Ghazali was a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon who worked at a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights.
An unnamed source told CBS News that the Israeli strike took place about 10 days ago.
Act of Terrorism
The strikes came after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, which triggered renewed attacks on Israel by Hezbollah. The CBS source said Ghazali's ex-wife claimed he called her shortly before the attack and asked her to take care of their children.
Authorities said his body was found inside the car, and he was armed with a rifle. "He breached the building, drove down the hall, and he was engaged by security," Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said of the armed attacker at a news conference.
Ghazali was born in Lebanon in 1985 and arrived in the United States through Detroit Metropolitan International Airport on May 10, 2011, according to the outlet. He entered the country after alien relative and fiancé petitions filed in December 2009 were approved in April 2010.
He later applied for naturalization on October 20, 2015, and became a U.S. citizen on February 5, 2016, during the Barack Obama administration, the report added.
Federal authorities said during a news conference that they are investigating the incident as a "targeted act of violence" against the Jewish community.
