FBI raids Michigan home of wannabe car bomber who plowed car full of explosives into Temple Israel synagogue, preschool
Federal agents stormed the home of the antisemitic maniac behind Thursday’s fiery synagogue and preschool attack in Michigan as investigators scramble to uncover what drove the rampage, according to photos obtained by The Post.
FBI agents were seen late Thursday night raiding Ayman Mohamad Ghazali’s Dearborn Heights home hours after the 41-year-old naturalized US citizen from Lebanon plowed an explosives-packed car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township before opening fire.
Officials were seen moving through a room inside the residence and carefully searching the property.
Other images show investigators peering through the open garage and surrounding the house as they methodically swept the property.
Some of the photos also appear to show a decorative wall sconce and fireplace inside the residence as agents continued their search.
Ghazali was shot dead by armed security guards who stopped the brazen attack at the synagogue — which also houses the preschool.
Authorities say Ghazali rammed his car into the building around 12:20 p.m. and began shooting with a rifle before security guards returned fire.
The car — believed to be loaded with explosives, including mortar shells — burst into flames during the chaos, leaving the attacker’s body badly burned inside the wreckage.
Despite the terrifying scene, none of the roughly 140 children inside the temple’s preschool were injured.
A head security guard was struck by the car and knocked unconscious during the attack but is expected to recover.
About 30 police officers and emergency responders were also hospitalized with smoke inhalation after rushing into the smoke-filled building to search for victims.
Investigators believe Ghazali may have carried out the attack after his family was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said Ghazali recently lost several family members — including a niece and nephew — in an Israeli strike on their home in Machghara.
Sources told CBS News the deadly strike happened roughly 10 days before the synagogue attack and may have also killed two of Ghazali’s brothers.
Adding to the chilling timeline, Ghazali reportedly called his ex-wife shortly before the rampage and told her to take care of their children.
Ghazali was born in Lebanon in January 1985 and entered the US through Detroit in May 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of an American citizen, the Department of Homeland Security told The Post.
He became a naturalized US citizen under the Obama administration on Feb. 5, 2016.
Court records show his ex-wife filed for divorce in Wayne County Circuit Court in August 2024, with the split finalized seven months later. The couple had at least one child.
Ghazali worked at Hamido Restaurant, a local Middle Eastern eatery in Dearborn Heights, according to The Detroit News.
Authorities say the FBI is treating the incident as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. Oakland County, where Temple Israel is located, has one of the largest Jewish populations outside of the New York area.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said law enforcement had already been on high alert amid rising tensions tied to the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
“We’ve been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening,” Bouchard said.
Police have since boosted security around synagogues and other houses of worship across the region as the investigation continues.
