The FBI has released an update after a suspect tried to drive a vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan.
The incident happened on March 12 at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, where authorities say the driver attempted to force the vehicle through the building’s doors and into a hallway before the vehicle caught fire.
Temple Israel is among the largest Reform Jewish synagogues in the United States.
Police confirmed the suspect has died, though they have not disclosed the cause of death.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said synagogue security guards fired as the suspect approached and later confronted him inside the building.
One person struck by the vehicle was taken to hospital and is expected to recover.
According to the BBC, the US Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized US citizen born in Lebanon who arrived in the US in 2011.
The FBI said it is treating the case as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
FBI special agent Jennifer Runyan shared a statement following the attack, offering condolences and outlining the agency’s response.
She said: “This is a deeply disturbing and tragic incident and our deepest sympathies are with the victims, their family, and the entire Jewish community.
“The FBI is here working with our state, local and federal partners to investigate this incident, and I can confirm that we are leading the investigation right now as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.
“As my partners have said, this is an active and ongoing investigation with an active crime scene, and I ask for your patience as we process this evidence and pursue every lead that has come to us and that we have developed thus far.
Runyan added that investigators believe only one suspect was involved, and that person is now dead. She also said no victims were killed.
She further confirmed the FBI received a report of an “active shooter” at Temple Israel at around 12:45pm and deployed a crisis response team, including SWAT.