Recently uncovered images and video allegedly depict Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, the man charged with a synagogue attack in Michigan, purchasing $2,000 worth of fireworks just days before the incident. On March 10, Ghazali, 41, from Dearborn Heights, was filmed making purchases totaling $2,250.96 at Phantom Fireworks in Livonia, Michigan.
According to Phantom Fireworks, he made two separate transactions—one at 2 p.m. for $1,369.02 and another at 2:17 p.m. for $881.94. The items he bought included firecrackers, repeaters, and fountain products, among others.
Alan Zoldan, the executive vice president of Phantom Fireworks, mentioned that Ghazali appeared to be in a good mood during his visit and that there was nothing unusual about his purchases. Zoldan noted that Ghazali seemed interested in the fireworks based on the sounds they made and was drawn to products with names suggestive of power, like “military bomb.”
Surveillance footage showed him spending roughly 45 minutes shopping, loading firecrackers into the bed of his truck before making another round of purchases.
Later, at around 12:30 p.m. local time on March 12, Ghazali allegedly drove his vehicle into the Temple Israel, a Reform Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield. Following the crash, he exited the vehicle brandishing a rifle, which led to a gunfight with an armed guard who ultimately shot him.
Fortunately, all preschool children and staff in the synagogue were safely evacuated during the chaos. Zoldan commented that there was no evidence of any tensions within the store during Ghazali’s purchase.
The FBI’s Detroit field office confirmed Ghazali as the assailant and stated that he had no prior criminal record or weapons registration and was never under investigation by the FBI.
Investigators revealed that, after the confrontation with security, Ghazali was cornered in the hallway of the synagogue when a fire ignited in his truck’s engine.
During the incident, he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Authorities later discovered a significant amount of commercial-grade fireworks and several containers of flammable liquid, suspected to be gasoline, in the truck, with some items burned in the fire.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baidoun shared that Ghazali recently experienced profound personal loss due to an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon that affected his family, including the tragic deaths of two children. While he expressed sympathy for the tragedy Ghazali faced, he firmly stated that such actions can never be justified and do not reflect the values of the community.
The investigation is ongoing.
