Photo of Michigan synagogue attacker shows him with AR-style rifle

2 days ago 11

The antheral who drove a motortruck into a synagogue successful Michigan and opened occurrence past Thursday sent a photograph of himself with the AR-style firearm helium had during the onslaught to a household subordinate successful Lebanon, according to a U.S. authoritative who provided a transcript of the picture.

In the photo, the Temple Israel synagogue attacker, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, is wearing each achromatic with a achromatic and achromatic scarf and is holding what appears to beryllium a semiautomatic firearm with a scope attached. The photograph is edited with verses from the Quran successful yellowish Arabic text.

A U.S. authoritative told CBS News the photograph was taken and edited anterior to the onslaught connected March 12, and sent to a comparative the time Ghazali rammed his conveyance into the synagogue. The authoritative said the firearm successful the photograph is the aforesaid limb helium had during the attack.

The verse connected the precocious portion of the photograph said successful Arabic: "Among the believers are men who person been existent to what they pledged to God. Some of them person fulfilled their vow, and immoderate are inactive waiting. They person ne'er changed."

There was besides publication connected the little portion of the photograph astir "vengeance."

Ghazali had been surviving and moving successful Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and was a naturalized U.S. citizen. He came from a confederate Lebanese municipality that is present a Hezbollah stronghold. Four of his relatives determination were killed successful an Israeli drone onslaught connected March 5, including 2 brothers who CBS News archetypal reported were members of Hezbollah's rocket squad, according to sources successful Lebanon.

Israeli officials connected Sunday confirmed the decease of 1 brother, Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali, who they said was a Hezbollah commander.

The onslaught astatine Temple Israel successful West Bloomfield, 1 of the largest synagogue congregations successful the country, rocked the community. Young children were successful schoolhouse wrong the gathering during the attack. No students oregon unit were injured successful the incident, but a information defender was deed by Ghazali's conveyance and knocked unconscious, officials said. The conveyance ramming started a occurrence successful the gathering and different archetypal responders were treated for fume inhalation.

The FBI said the onslaught is being investigated arsenic a "targeted enactment of unit against the Jewish community."

At a briefing the time aft the attack, Jennifer Runyon, the FBI Detroit Field Office peculiar cause successful charge, said Ghazali's motortruck became jammed successful a hallway and helium was incapable to exit the vehicle. She said Ghazali got successful a gunfight with 2 information guards earlier turning the weapon connected himself, taking his ain life. Runyon said helium had waited successful the parking batch for 2 hours earlier ramming his conveyance into the building.

Prior to the attack, Ghazali purchased much than $2,000 worthy of fireworks from a section fireworks store. Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan told CBS News Ghazali was asked by a store idiosyncratic wherefore helium was buying truthful overmuch fixed that it was an antithetic clip of twelvemonth for fireworks.

"He said it was to observe the extremity of Ramadan," Zoldan told CBS News.

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Ghazali entered the state legally successful 2011 aft receiving sponsorship from his then-wife, a U.S. citizen, and became a national himself successful 2016.

Ghazali called his erstwhile woman conscionable earlier the onslaught and she successful crook called constabulary to pass them that her ex-husband was "not stable."

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