What we know about the Temple Israel synagogue attack in Michigan

The FBI is investigating a car ramming attack on a large Detroit-area synagogue Thursday as a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community," the special agent in charge for the region said

The FBI is investigating a car ramming attack on a large Detroit-area synagogue Thursday as a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community," the special agent in charge for the region said.

The Department of Homeland Security said the driver was Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon.

Ghazali lost several family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon last week, according to a local Lebanese official and a mayor in Michigan.

Numerous federal and state law enforcement officials said that while they believe Ghazali is the alleged attacker, they are awaiting forensics to confirm the identity because the driver's body is so badly burned.

Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter Thursday in West Bloomfield Township, Mich.Emily Elconin / Getty ImagesThe driver fatally shot himself during a gunfight with security at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, officials said. A preschool was in session at the temple, which is in a suburb around 30 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, but no children or school staff members were injured, officials said.