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Police are responding to reports of an “active shooter” at a synagogue outside Detroit, where smoke is billowing from the roof.
A sheriff in Michigan said security at the synagogue engaged in gunfire with at least one person.
WDIV-TV reports that a truck crashed into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., on Thursday. Oakland County sheriff Mike Bouchard says no one is in custody yet.
Footage from the scene shows dozens of police vehicles surrounding the building.
Police say they have no confirmation of injuries yet, but that this could change.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents are on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s office said authorities are clearing the building. About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning centre inside the building after getting approval from police. Police told reporters all of the children were safely out of the building.
West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Temple Israel calls itself the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, with 12,000 members, according to its website. It has an early childhood education centre and offers educational programs for families and adults.
The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.”
More to come
