WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — The first two West Bloomfield police officers to arrive at Temple Israel during last week's attack are sharing what they encountered inside the building as they ran toward danger — and how training completed just weeks earlier helped guide their response.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Lt. Bob Houchins and Officer Zena Dailey were among the first on scene when a gunman attacked the synagogue. Both had completed active shooter training about a month before the attack.
"As we were coming out to our car and heard confirmed shots fired, we knew that this was the real deal. It's time to go," Houchins said.
Dailey described entering a building already filling with smoke.
"The building was already smoky and we just kinda went towards - down the hallways," Dailey said. "Where we're running past that to get to where we thought the shots were coming from."
The two officers linked up with security and then split up to clear the building. Houchins, working alongside Temple Israel teachers, helped get about 40 of more than 100 children to safety.
FULL INTERVIEW: Zena Daily and Bob Houchins on responding to Temple Israel
"I will say the teachers were phenomenal. They acted with true poise in probably the most chaotic moment of their life," Houchins said.
The overall response was massive — more than 600 law enforcement officers and scores of firefighters converged on the scene. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said coordination was key.
"You pull everybody together, so we all are communicating, and we know what kind of resources we need immediately and what we might need in the minutes and hours going forward," Bouchard said.
Bouchard said a terrorist attack on a hotel in Mumbai, India, years ago prompted him to create a regional plan for mass-casualty response. The assault on Temple Israel is now providing new, hard-won lessons. More than 60 law enforcement officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
FULL INTERVIEW: Sheriff Michael Bouchard on responding to Temple Israel
"And this is the second event we responded to where there's a fire in addition to an assailant. So, you know, we're going to begin the process of adding Scott Air packs to our response capability as police officers, because it didn't stop any of these people from going in," Bouchard said. "It would be better if they had the preparation and capability to be able to breathe in that environment, rather than kind of choke down the smoke."
Some West Bloomfield firefighters even wore body armor while extinguishing the attacker's truck, knowing he had been armed.
"We have seen multiple incidents where we would start to put our body armor to make sure the scene is safe," West Bloomfield Deputy Fire Chief Mark Lawry said.
Authorities identified the attacker as Ayman Ghazali of Dearborn Heights. Investigators say he took his own life during a gunfight with Temple Israel security.
The Israeli military claims his brother, Ibrahim Ghazali, was a Hezbollah commander killed in a strike in Lebanon along with three relatives on March 5, one week before the synagogue attack.
A law enforcement official addressed questions about the attacker's motive.
"It would be irresponsible for me to speculate about his motive at this time. Our teams have been working around the clock to ensure that we remain focused on providing confirmed facts about this investigation," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
In the meantime, Temple Israel has suspended programming through Tuesday. Synagogue leadership is also finalizing arrangements for a temporary office location as the site remains closed.
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