Oakland County Sheriff’s Office providing training to houses of worship following Temple Israel attack

In the wake of the Temple Israel attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan, the focus on the safety of our region’s faith communities is at an all-time high. 

In response, local law enforcement is increasing its security training efforts for all houses of worship.

“One of the most important things is communication and interaction. The time to build a plan is not during a crisis at the door,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Bouchard says the recent safety training that Temple Israel staff received proved critical in preventing any serious injuries. In December 2025, the sheriff’s office hosted training workshops designed for the needs of each congregation – taking the building’s layout, staff and resources into account.

“If you’ve got kindergarten or daycare, there’s a completely different mindset in terms of how you move, how you evacuate, or even if you evacuate, depending on circumstances, versus maybe a building that’s got all 30-year-olds that can move freely and do different things,” said Bouchard.

Thursday’s attack marked the third violent incident at a house of worship in Michigan in less than 12 months, following the shootings in Grand Blanc and Wayne last year.

On top of the training, law enforcement is also looking at ways to boost their response, seeing what worked and what they can improve.

“The temple specifically, because of the fire and smoke, we didn’t have enough air devices to allow folks to go into that building safely, but they did so anyway,” said Bouchard.

Bouchard says while priority will first be given to religious institutions in Oakland County, they plan to partner with neighboring police departments to open it up in the near future.

“We’re trying not to exclude anybody because we know the interest is great,” said Bouchard.

Bouchard says more than 50 congregations of all faiths have already signed up for security training in the days since the attack.

If your community is interested, more information on the training is available online.