TLDR
Investigators in Michigan are examining video and sales records that allegedly show Ayman Mohamad Ghazali buying more than $2,200 in fireworks two days before he rammed a pickup truck into Temple Israel and exchanged gunfire with armed security outside Detroit.
At the center of the Temple Israel truck attack inquiry is a long receipt. Images and video from a suburban fireworks showroom appear to document the accused assailant calmly buying a truckload of commercial pyrotechnics. Investigators now must decide whether those lawful purchases point to advance planning.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old Dearborn Heights resident, was identified by the FBI as the man who allegedly drove a pickup into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, exited with a rifle, and exchanged gunfire with armed security before being shot, according to Fox News and federal investigators.
Fireworks Purchases Before the Attack
According to Fox News, surveillance video from a Phantom Fireworks showroom in Livonia allegedly shows Ghazali making two purchases on March 10th totaling $2,250.96. Company records cited in that reporting state he spent about 45 minutes in the store and bought 20 items, including firecrackers, aerial repeaters, and at least one fountain product.
Phantom Fireworks executive vice president Alan Zoldan told Fox News there “was nothing really too suspicious” about the transaction and that Ghazali appeared to be in good spirits. Zoldan said the customer gravitated toward products with strong names and loud effects, but did not do anything that prompted staff to contact law enforcement.
Security Response and Forensic Findings
Two days after the reported purchases, investigators say Ghazali allegedly rammed his pickup into Temple Israel shortly before 12:30 p.m. local time, when preschool children and staff were inside the building. Armed security officers engaged him, and all children and staff were evacuated without physical injury, according to officials.
At a news conference, FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said Ghazali was “forensically confirmed” as the assailant and had no prior criminal history, no registered weapons, and had never been the subject of an FBI investigation. Investigators reported finding large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of flammable liquid, believed to be gasoline, in the bed of his truck, some of which were consumed in a post-impact fire.
Motive, Grief, and Community Impact
Authorities have not announced a formal motive and have said the investigation remains ongoing. Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun told reporters that Ghazali, a Lebanese-born American citizen, had recently lost family members, including two children, in an Israeli airstrike on his family’s home in Lebanon, framing those losses as context rather than justification.
The Associated Press has confirmed reporting that four relatives of Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, the suspect in a vehicle attack on a synagogue in Michigan, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Mashgharah, Lebanon on March 5. According to local officials cited by AP, the strike hit… pic.twitter.com/TMI7cjVALM
— TMJ News Network (@tmjnewsnetwork) March 14, 2026
Baydoun emphasized that the attack did not reflect the community’s values, stating, “There is never an excuse for violence, especially violence directed at a sacred space.” The incident, which followed prior active shooter training at Temple Israel, has intensified scrutiny of security measures at houses of worship while investigators work to piece together Ghazali’s final days and how he intended to use the explosives he purchased.
For now, key questions about planning and intent remain open, even as the main suspect is dead. Investigators are using receipts, video, and forensic evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events that turned a legal fireworks sale into a law enforcement case involving a synagogue under attack.
