Temple Israel guard injured in attack was longtime police officer

The man injured in an attack Thursday on a Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield Township was a longtime police veteran with extensive experience in stopping active shooters, according to the temple.

During a Shabbat observance Friday, leaders of Temple Israel identified the injured man as Danny Phillips. Phillips is Temple Israel’s director of security, according to the temple’s website.

Authorities said a guard at the temple, now identified as Phillips, was hurt Thursday when Ayman Ghazali, 41, of Dearborn Heights slammed his Ford F-150 through the front doors of Temple Israel on Walnut Lake Road and engaged in gunfire with the synagogue’s security team.

Phillips was hospitalized following the attack, authorities said.

“We are also sending our love and our prayers and our strength” to Phillips, said Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny during Friday’s Shabbat observance. “Danny is an amazing man.”

Phillips was hired in June 2025 to be the temple’s full-time director of security “in response to the evolving realities facing Jewish communities,” according to a post on Temple Israel’s Facebook page.

“Our security presence is an expression of responsibility, resilience, and our dedication to ensuring that every person who enters Temple Israel feels safe, supported, and seen,” the post says.

Phillips previously was a lieutenant for the Bloomfield Hills Police Department with 28 years of experience as an officer, according to a Jewishnews.com report from September 2025.

He also had instructed fellow officers in active shooter response at Oakland Community College, Jewishnews.com reported. At Temple Israel, Phillips was working with local police to update the temple’s Incident Action Plan and was planning to institute tighter security protocols, including ID checks and on-site metal detectors.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Temple Israel guard injured in attack was longtime police officer