The individual who crashed a truck loaded with explosives into a Michigan synagogue, which also houses a preschool, has been confirmed dead, authorities report.

After the vehicle collided with Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township on Thursday, it erupted in flames following an unspecified ignition, according to officials.

Inside the truck, police discovered a deceased man armed with a rifle, as stated by Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. Although his body was severely burned, law enforcement has yet to release additional information.

Sheriff Bouchard noted that synagogue security personnel exchanged gunfire with the suspect following his aggressive entry into the building.

First responders uncovered a “significant quantity of explosives” in the truck’s rear, a law enforcement insider revealed to CNN.

Authorities are actively working to determine the shooter’s identity and uncover potential motives, as indicated by a source from the Associated Press. The investigation remains in its initial phases.

No students or staff were injured in the attack. Parents sprinted into the building to find their children after getting approval from police.

A security guard was taken to hospital after being struck by the vehicle but is expected to recover. 

Early reports from the scene suggest the vehicle deliberately plowed into the children’s early learning center. Authorities are investigating whether multiple assailants were involved in the attack.

Parents carry their children away from the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, on Thursday after a gunman drove a truck into the building

Women and children outside Temple Israel synagogue, which has an early childhood center, in West Bloomfield Township, after a gunman opened fire

Law enforcement respond to the active shooter situation at Temple Israel synagogue

Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue

Images obtained by WDIV show a large police presence on the scene with smoke coming out of windows and a vent on the roof.

Scores of police vehicles from neighboring departments, a SWAT team, bomb technicians and bomb-sniffing dogs have responded to the scene.

The synagogue is a reform Jewish place of worship that was open at the time of the attack. It has one of the largest congregations in the country.

‘He breached the building, drove down the hall, and he was engaged by security,’ Bouchard said of the armed assailant. ‘We can’t say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire.’

The sheriff said the suspect appeared to be alone in the vehicle and police dogs were checking the car for explosives.

‘It’s been complicated because there’s some fire, to say the least, with that vehicle.’

One woman who spoke to WDIV, named Lisa, said that the preschool was in use at the time. 

She told the outlet: ‘I’m scared to death for my friends, I’ve never seen anything like this. My first thought was the children.

‘Parents and grandparents are coming and they’re scared to death for their children. This is senseless, this is not okay.’

Smoke blooms out of the roof and a side door at the synagogue after the attack in Michigan

Police respond to scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan

Locals gather near Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Families embrace outside of a Michigan synagogue after an assailant drove a truck into the building on Thursday afternoon

Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter

The synagogue is a reform Jewish place of worship that was open at the time of the attack

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard told reporters that the suspect ‘breached the building, drove down the hall, and was engaged by security’

As she spoke, several adults could be seen embracing one another in tears. 

Soon after the attack, a spokesman for Michigan State Police said: ‘We are asking for community members to stay away from the area to allow for police response. Troopers are also increasing patrols at other places of worship in the district.’

West Bloomfield School District and the Jewish Federation of Detroit both said they were aware of the incident.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was tracking developments.

‘This is heartbreaking,’ she said. ‘Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.’

Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website. 

The early childhood education center offers educational programs for families and adults.

An armed officer near Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan

Neighboring police departments, a SWAT team, bomb technicians and dogs were at the scene

Dozens of police vehicles swarmed the synagogue after the attack earlier today

Members of the FBI at the site of the attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan

First responders work the scene after a shooter drove a truck into Temple Israel synagogue

Local law enforcement is said to have been on high alert since the start of the war on Iran 

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.’

Sheriff Bouchard said law enforcement had been on high alert since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran nearly two weeks ago.

‘We’ve been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening,’ he said. ‘So there was no lack of preparation.

The sheriff added: ‘All Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out.’

The Jewish Federation of Detroit has advised all Jewish organizations in the area ‘to go into lockout protocol – nobody in or out of your building.’ 

FBI Detroit led an Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness (ASAPP) training for the clergy and staff of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in late January, nearly two months before Thursday’s attack. 

Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue

The synagogue is a reform Jewish place of worship that has a preschool attached to it

The FBI and hundreds of law enforcement officers raced to Temple Israel in West Bloomfield as smoke billowed from the building

Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter

An armed FBI agent works the scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield

‘The FBI course combines lessons learned from years of research and employs scenario-based exercises to help participants practice the decision-making process of the Run, Hide, Fight principles and take necessary actions for survival,’ the agency wrote in a post on X.

‘We appreciate them for having us. Our Division has partnered with many organizations in Michigan and is committed to protecting schools, workplaces, houses of worship, medical facilities, transportation centers, government facilities, other public gathering sites, and communities.’

Sheriff Bouchard has praised Temple Israel security for their response to the active shooter.

‘I’m deeply proud of the response not only from the security that was on site but also of all the police officers and the firefighters that are here now,’ she said.

‘Training certainly helped to mitigate what happened here today.

‘Everything that was supposed to happen, happened. Security did their job, and then the responders did theirs.’