Newly obtained images and video allegedly show the man accused in Thursdays synagogue attack in Michigan purchasing more than $2,000 worth of fireworks two days before ramming a truck into Temple Israel outside Detroit.
Video obtained by Fox News allegedly shows 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali of Dearborn Heights making two purchases of fireworks totaling $2,250.96 at the Phantom Fireworks showroom in , on March 10.
According to Phantom Fireworks, Ghazali for $1,369.02 at 2 p.m. and another for $881.94 at 2:17 p.m. He purchased 20 items, including a variety of firecrackers, aerial repeaters and a fountain product.
Alan Zoldan, executive vice president of Phantom Fireworks, told Fox News there “was nothing really too suspicious” about the purchase, noting that Ghazali “seemed like he was in a good mood.”
Zoldan said the items Ghazali was buying were based on how they sounded and that he was looking at fireworks “that were either shaped like they were possibly very strong or had names like Military Demolitions and Da Bomb.”
“He obviously thought that they were going to be stronger and perhaps more devastating than they were,” Zoldan said.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows Ghazali shopping in the stores retail showroom, where he spent about 45 minutes. After making the first purchase, he loaded the fireworks into the bed of his pickup truck and then returned inside to make an additional purchase.
Zoldan added there was no noticeable tension or anything that would raise suspicion for employees.
Ghazali allegedly , a large Reform Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield, shortly before 12:30 p.m. local time. He then exited the vehicle with a rifle and exchanged gunfire with armed security, who shot and killed him.
All preschool children and staff were safely evacuated from the synagogue.
Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the , said during a news conference Friday that Ghazali was “forensically confirmed” to be the assailant.
She said Ghazali had no previous criminal history or registered weapons and had never been the subject of an FBI investigation.
After engaging security officers in a gunfight, Ghazali’s vehicle engine compartment caught fire, and he became trapped in the synagogue hallway, according to investigators.
“At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali suffers a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said.
She said agents found large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of , believed to be gasoline, in the bed of the truck. Some of the items were consumed in the fire, she added.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said during a news conference Friday that Ghazali, a Lebanese-born American citizen, had recently lost family members in Lebanon during the countrys conflict with Israel.
“We do know that the individual had recently suffered devastating and personal losses overseas due to an Israeli airstrike on his family’s home in Lebanon, leaving two children dead,” he said.
“That grief is real and its heartbreaking,” he continued. “But let me be clear: that is not an excuse. These actions do not reflect our values as a city. This is not who we are. There is never an excuse for violence, especially violence directed at a .”
The incident remains under investigation.
