Michigan synagogue attacker's ex-wife warned 911 operator he was 'not stable' as assault began

18 Mar 2026 By foxnews

The ex-wife of a man who authorities said attacked a synagogue in Michigan told local 911 dispatchers that he was "mentally unstable" before the incident, according to records obtained by Fox News.

41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali rammed his car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Thursday at 12:19 p.m, according to officials. Ghazali got out of his vehicle and armed security exchanged gunfire with him as he was armed with a rifle.

After he engaged in gunfire with security, Ghazali suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the FBI.

At 12:21 p.m., Ghazali's ex-wife called 911 and told the operator that "His voice is not stable," referring to her ex-husband, adding that she had just spoken with him, according to records.

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"I just want to make sure he's OK," she said.

Ghazali said that her ex-husband was "mentally unstable due to all his family dying overseas in the war." She said that Ghazali asked her to "send money overseas" before ending the call.

The suspect's ex-wife also said that Ghazali had been deeply distressed after two of his brothers along with their kids were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

"I feel like he's really upset," she told the 911 operator.

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces said that Ghazali's brother was a member of Hezbollah.

"Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the Badr Unit," the Israeli Defense Forces posted on X. "The unit is responsible for launching hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians throughout the war."

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"His brother, Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, carried out the terror attack in Michigan this past Thursday. Ibrahim was eliminated in an IAF strike on a Hezbollah military structure last week," the post said.

Federal officials said they were "aware" of reports that some of Ghazali's family members had ties to Hezbollah, saying that the attack was a "targeted act of violence."

Ghazali allegedly made two purchases of fireworks totaling $2,250.96 at the Phantom Fireworks showroom in Livonia, Michigan, on March 10 before the attack, according to the company.

One of the purchases came at 2 p.m. for $1,369.02 and the other was for $881.94 at 2:17 p.m. The items he purchased included inclined aerial repeaters, firecrackers and a fountain product.

Alan Zoldan, executive vice president of Phantom Fireworks, previously told Fox News there "was nothing really too suspicious" about the purchases Ghazali made and said that it seemed like he was "in a good mood."

Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz, Garrett Tenney and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.