Overview
- A woman believed to be Ayman Mohamad Ghazali’s ex-wife called 911 minutes after the March 12 attack, describing him as suicidal and distraught over relatives killed in Lebanon, according to a redacted recording and police report.
- Dearborn Heights officers performed a welfare check after the call but found no one at his residence, and a contact told police he had asked that his money be sent to family.
- Authorities say Ghazali waited more than two hours in Temple Israel’s parking lot before ramming a truck packed with fireworks and apparent accelerants into the preschool area, exchanging fire with security, and then dying of a self-inflicted gunshot; no congregants were injured and the wounded guard is expected to survive.
- DHS confirmed Ghazali entered the U.S. legally in 2011 and naturalized in 2016, as the FBI leads an inquiry it describes as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.
- The IDF said Ghazali’s brother was a Hezbollah commander, and U.S. media cite law-enforcement sources saying Ghazali was previously flagged for contacts with Hezbollah-linked individuals, which U.S. investigators have not publicly verified; the FBI is seeking public photos and videos of the incident.