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Michigan synagogue car-ramming suspect bought $2,000 worth of fireworks before attack

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Michigan synagogue car-ramming suspect bought ,000 worth of fireworks before attack


Two days before federal authorities say Ayman Mohamad Ghazali carried out Thursday’s antisemitic terror attack at a synagogue outside Detroit, the driver in the car-ramming violence allegedly walked out of a fireworks store with more than $2,000 worth of explosives.

Speaking exclusively with NBC News, Phantom Fireworks said that a person who registered as Ayman Ghazali visited one of the company’s Detroit-area stores at 1:39 p.m. March 10 and spent about 45 minutes inside.

Days later, Ghazali allegedly rammed a pickup into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, setting off a fire at the synagogue where a preschool attended by more than 100 children was in session, officials said. None of the children or staff members were injured.

Ghazali, a Dearborn Heights resident, was killed by the synagogue’s security team following the attack.

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The FBI on Friday said that Ghazali was “forensically confirmed” as the assailant. Prior, officials said they believed he was the synagogue attacker, but were awaiting forensics as the driver’s body was badly burned.

Ghazali had no previous criminal history, no registered weapons, and he had never been the subject of a FBI investigation, Jennifer Runyan, the Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit field office, said in a news briefing Friday.

She did not speak on a motive for the attack, but the FBI has previously said it is investigating the incident as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

Officials did not mention what caused the fire, but in the vehicle, investigators found multiple gas canisters and consumer mortar tubes that would be used to launch fireworks, according to two senior officials briefed on the investigation.

The fireworks purchase was one of several facts about Ghazali’s background leading up to the attack that came into focus Friday.

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Ghazali, a U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, lost several family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon last week, according to local officials in Michigan. The strike killed two of his brothers, who were known to be members of Hezbollah, and his niece and nephew, an official told NBC News.

Investigators are looking into Ghazali’s possible ties to suspected members of Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a source familiar with the matter. He had been questioned several times about these possible contacts upon his return to the U.S. from overseas, the source said.

In recent weeks, hundreds of people in Lebanon have been killed and more than 750,000 people displaced amid escalating Israeli attacks, which were launched after Hezbollah struck Israel in retaliation for the war on Iran.

In Michigan, Alan Zoldan, Phantom Fireworks’ executive vice president, said the store employee who rang up Ghazali’s order recalled that “he certainly had no appearance of nervousness.”

“He was going to be celebrating Eid, you know, the end of the Ramadan,” Zoldan said. Eid al-Fitr, a holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of the fast, is next week.

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Phantom Fireworks said it requires all customers to register their identification before making a purchase. After the synagogue attack, the company found Ghazali’s name and address in its records, which it said federal investigators requested by subpoena.

Video Phantom Fireworks shared with NBC News shows the man who identified himself as Ghazali, 41, walking into the store and registering his identification at the front desk before he starts shopping. About 15 minutes later, he walks up to the register with a mostly full cart, fills out paperwork and begins checking out. Once all the items are scanned and on the counter, he turns the cart around and continues shopping for roughly 5 more minutes.

About 20 minutes later, footage shows the man pushing the cart out of the store to a waiting pickup. He loads the truck bed, hands the cart off to the store employee and drives off.

Ghazali bought roughly 30 different types of items from Phantom Fireworks, including a “finale rack” product that the manufacturer says should be lit with people at least 100 yards away.
Ghazali bought roughly 30 different types of items from Phantom Fireworks, including a “finale rack” product that the company says should be lit with people at least 100 yards away.Courtesy Phantom Fireworks

Ghazali bought roughly 20 types of items from Phantom Fireworks, including a “finale rack” product that the company says should be lit with people at least 100 yards away.

It’s not clear if fireworks purchased from this store were used in the synagogue attack.

The company also said that a $2,000 purchase is not inherently noteworthy.

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“For our, you know, biggest customers that are going big at home — which we have so many of — spending $2,000, $5,000, $10,000 happens repeatedly … $5,000 and $10,000 is actually pretty common,” said Phantom Fireworks vice president Jessi Dragoiu.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun condemned the attack Friday, saying: “We do know that the individual had recently suffered devastating and personal losses overseas due to an Israeli air strike on his family’s home in Lebanon, leaving two children dead. Grief is real, and it’s heartbreaking, but let me be clear, that is not an excuse.”

Dearborn Heights police chief Michael Guzowski said any relevant records and background information were shared with investigators. He said there’s no credible information indicating an ongoing threat to residents and the city has increased monitoring as a precaution.

In a news briefing on Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called the attack an act of antisemitism.

“It was hate, plain and simple,” Whitmer said at the briefing. “We will fight this ancient and rampant evil. We will stand together as we do it, and we will call it out. We must lower the rhetoric in this state and in this country, especially at this moment where we have seen such a rise in anti-Semitism and more attacks on the Jewish community.”

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The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office referred NBC News to the FBI. The FBI declined to comment on this story.



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Sterling Heights to consider opposing Michigan House tax policy bills

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Sterling Heights to consider opposing Michigan House tax policy bills


The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”

The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.

At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.

“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.

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The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.

All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses. 

Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”

“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.

Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.

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“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.

State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.

“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.

More on the bills

The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.

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House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.

Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.

Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.

Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.

Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.

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“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.

Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.

asnabes@detroitnews.com



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Search for Lynette Hooker reopened after Michigan woman disappeared in Bahamas

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Search for Lynette Hooker reopened after Michigan woman disappeared in Bahamas


The search for a missing Michigan in the Bahamas has been reopened after authorities say her husband allegedly gave police false information.

Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian were boating in the Bahamas in early April when, according to her husband, she fell off the boat and was swept to sea. Brian told police he had to paddle to shore after Lynette fell into the water because she had the key.

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Brian was taken into custody in the Bahamas after Lynette’s disappearance, but was later released and returned back to Michigan.

Recently, it was revealed that new location data from Brian’s cell phone contradicts the story he gave to authorities, and suggests he may have sent search crews to the wrong area. This new information has led to the U.S. Coast Guard reopening its search for Lynette.

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The Source: Previous reporting and information from FOX News were used in this story. 

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Fifth Third Bank to close 75 Michigan branches, including former Comerica locations

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Fifth Third Bank to close 75 Michigan branches, including former Comerica locations


Fifth Third Bank said it has finalized its list of Michigan branch closures this summer, confirming that 75 locations will shut down in September as part of an ongoing effort to streamline its retail network.

Of the branches closing, 55 are former Comerica Bank locations, and 20 are existing Fifth Third branches.

The bank said most of the affected locations have another Fifth Third branch within one mile.

After the closures, Fifth Third said it will operate 227 branches across Michigan, including 116 in the five-county Metro Detroit area.

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In a statement, Fifth Third said it is “building a stronger, more efficient branch network that supports customers today and positions the Bank for long-term sustainable growth in Michigan and across our expanded footprint.

The bank said it will continue serving Michigan through 227 financial centers across 39 counties and nearly 140 communities.

It added that while it is consolidating overlapping branches, most of the affected locations have another Fifth Third financial center within one mile.

After the customer conversion later this year, Fifth Third said Michigan customers will have access to approximately 42% more branches, while former Comerica customers will have access to about 60% more branches than before.

In southeast Michigan, Fifth Third’s post-conversion network is expected to be the largest in the five-county region of Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties, with 116 financial centers.

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In Detroit, the bank said it will operate 19 locations, making it the largest banking network in the city following the conversion.

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.



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