Michigan synagogue security ‘heroes’ ‘saved lives’ during Temple Israel attack, governor says

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during a press briefing on Friday that the security officers at a Michigan synagogue that was targeted in an attack on Thursday were “heroes” who “saved lives.”

“They were selfless in their courage and they saved lives. These heroes threw themselves in harm’s way, engaging the suspect,” she said.

“Yesterday’s attack was antisemitism. It was hate, plain and simple. We will fight this ancient and rampant evil. We will stand together as we do it. And we will call it out,” she said.

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The attack was perpetrated by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday, noting that the Lebanese-born man was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016.

“The tragic attack on Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan was carried out by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali,” DHS noted in the statement provided to Fox News.

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“He was born in Lebanon on January 4, 1985. He entered the United States on May 10, 2011 at Detroit Metropolitan International Airport on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen after alien relative and fiancé petitions filed in December 2009 were approved in April 2010. He applied for naturalization on October 20, 2015 and was granted U.S. citizenship on February 5, 2016 under the Obama administration,” the statement noted.

Temple Israel issued a Facebook post on Thursday noting that “Everyone is safe.”

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“All 140 students in our Susan and Harold Loss Early Childhood Center, our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe,” the post noted. “As you have no doubt heard, Temple Israel was the victim of a terrorist gunman who was confronted and neutralized by our security personnel who are truly heroes. Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report