U.S. authorities are investigating two attacks that occurred on Thursday as possible acts of terrorism. There is no indication that they were related, but the country is on alert for possible retaliation due to the bombings in recent weeks on Iran. The first took place on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, when a man crashed his car into the Temple of Israel, the most important synagogue in the area. The FBI, in a press conference, explained that there were no casualties among the attendees or staff, and that the driver had died.
"We are analyzing it as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community," said Agent Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI office in Detroit. The suspect was identified as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41 years old, born in Lebanon and a U.S. citizen after naturalization, as explained by the Department of Homeland Security.
At least one of the temple security guards was injured when the vehicle entered the premises, causing a fire as it passed through. The synagogue security fired shots, but Runyan said that the cause of death, whether from the crash or the shots, would need to be determined by the autopsy.
County Sheriff Michael Bouchard stated during a press conference that in recent days, he had held meetings with various officials precisely on security at Jewish facilities. A few weeks ago, the facility, which besides a synagogue also has a preschool and a museum, had precisely been the site of a series of exercises and drills on possible firearm attacks.
The second shooting occurred almost simultaneously at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, when Mohammad Bailor Jalloh burst into a classroom and opened fire, killing Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a military science professor and decorated veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. The attacker, who was shot by students, had been released from prison in 2024 after serving a seven-year sentence on terrorism-related charges, with links to the Islamic State.
Witnesses have reported that the shooting began around 11 a.m. when the shooter entered a classroom shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and opened fire. There were reserve officers in the classroom who returned fire. In addition to him and the lieutenant colonel, two other people were injured, one seriously. "I am grateful for their example, deeply saddened by his death, and praying for his family," lamented Virginia Governor and former CIA agent Abigail Spanberger. "In the midst of this tragedy, I thank the brave students, first responders, and law enforcement officers who responded quickly to today's horrific attack."
According to The New York Times, Jalloh, a naturalized citizen born in Sierra Leone, had himself been a member of the Virginia Army National Guard who left the Army "after listening to lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki," an Al Qaeda leader who was killed in 2011 by a U.S. drone strike. According to court documents, Jalloh traveled to Nigeria in 2015 and stayed there for two weeks with an Islamic State member and even attempted to join the group to fight in Libya.
There, he came into contact with ISIS members, with whom he discussed a possible attack in the United States. To carry out the attack, Jalloh, back in the U.S., contacted different individuals, one of whom was an FBI informant who exposed him. Trial evidence proved that the deceased terrorist had a gun and planned to "kill American military personnel" in an operation similar to the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.