The man who drove a truck into Temple Israel on March 12 spent days before the attack searching online for Jewish gathering places, weapons accessories, and upcoming events at the synagogue, then tried to delete the evidence.
The FBI recovered those deleted searches and revealed them during a press conference on Monday, March 30.
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Here is what investigators say he looked up:
Searching for Jewish targets
The attacker began searching for local synagogues on March 9.
That night, he spent hours browsing websites for Jewish cultural, educational, and religious centers across the Metro Detroit area, including multiple pages covering upcoming events at Temple Israel.
On March 10, his searches became more specific. According to the FBI, he looked up:
- “largest gathering of israelis in Michigan”
- “orthodox synagogues”
- “israeli near me”
- “a center affiliated with the israeli embassy in Michigan”
He also searched for “what time is the trump rally in Michigan” that same day, according to investigators.
After buying more than $2,200 in fireworks that afternoon, he returned online and continued browsing pages about Temple Israel.
‘What time is lunch?’
His focus increasingly narrowed to Temple Israel before the attack, and on the night of March 11, he searched for “what time is lunch at temple israel.”
On the morning of the attack, March 12, he searched for additional rifle accessories and visited websites for a local firearms vendor and a sporting goods store, also looking up a double magazine holster.
The FBI said he attempted to delete his search history, but investigators recovered the searches.
In addition to the attacker’s search history, the FBI released details about his social media posts, messages he sent, and his actions that led up to him targeting Temple Israel on March 12.
Read--> Timeline: Attacker’s messages, search history, actions before targeting West Bloomfield temple
The FBI said the attacker was not on the terrorist watchlist and was not the subject of any prior FBI investigation. Investigators also found no evidence that he visited Temple Israel or conducted physical surveillance of the synagogue before the attack.
Aside from the attacker, there were no fatalities.