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Explosives Found in Vehicle That Rammed Synagogue; Suspect Dead, Security Guard Hurt After Car Rams Detroit-Area Synagogue. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 12, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: ... Counterterrorism investigators are going to be looking very closely at this.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Yes, and that's the key piece right there. All right. Thank you for that.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's bring back Donell to get your reaction to that news. We just heard from Jason that apparently a significant number of explosives were found in the vehicle that the suspect used to ram into Temple Israel.

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER HEAD OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE: Yes, Andy hit the nail on the head there. I do want to add that this is similar, Boris, to what you and I were talking about last year with the LDS attack. Remember that that perpetrator rammed the LDS church, had weapons that were long-arm weapons he was shooting.

We call this a multimodal attack. This is a hybrid attack. We don't see this in the United States.

Andy said this is more of a theater of war. This doesn't happen in the U.S. That was the first time the LDS attack where we saw three different modes of vehicle ramming, an active shooter, and fire or explosives. And we're seeing this now.

This is straight out of the playbook of Al-Qaeda or ISIS. They have publications that they put online telling individuals to do these types of attacks, vehicle ramming being the most simple one. If you can get a firearm, go and use that.

If you can combine those attacks, it's even more effective. To add a third or fourth type of attack, either fire or explosives, makes it very, very deadly. And it indicates that this individual was not just, you know, someone who just rashly, as Andy said, came up with an idea.

This is going to help law enforcement. To make a bomb is not something you can do in an afternoon. And so they'll be able to track down the materials, how he acquired the knowledge, perhaps online, and they may be able to get to whether this individual acted alone.

DEAN: Yes, those are all really important points and worth just zooming out for a minute and remembering that just a few days ago in New York City, we did have those two suspects who told authorities there they were inspired by ISIS with those live IEDs that they threw. So just important context around the moment we are in right now. Donell Harvin, thank you so much for that.

We are going to take a quick break, and we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's go straight to officials in Michigan who are giving us an update now on this incident at Temple Israel.

SHERIFF MICHAEL BOUCHARD, OAKLAND COUNTY MICHIGAN: ... is engaged by security. We believe there is one individual deceased in the vehicle. It's been complicated because there was some fire, to say the least, with that vehicle. We believe that individual is deceased.

No kids. This is the important thing. No kids or no staff was injured whatsoever.

OK, so we have no victims other than one of the lead security people was hit by the car and was taken to the hospital for treatment. That individual should be OK. So, so far, that's our information to this point.

We have agencies from all over. Obviously, ATF is here. FBI more than likely will be taking the lead on this based on some of the preliminary investigative information we have, but we're not going to go into that at this point.

But we want to assure the community it doesn't appear to be anything active. We're still clearing the area. We're going to clear vehicles for any explosive devices, the building, etc.

Unification of the families and the kids are in progress. We've accounted for everybody that we believe was in the building at the time.

[14:35:00]

So we're on path to continue to maybe pivot to, is there anybody else involved and the investigative side of what's happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can assume that it was security that shot and killed the suspect here.

BOUCHARD: Well, we can't say what killed him at this point, but security did engage the suspect with gunfire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the suspect have a weapon?

BOUCHARD: We can't get into a lot of that stuff, but he breached the building, drove down the hall and he was engaged by security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, do we know, did he ever fire shot, the suspect? BOUCHARD: Preliminarily, we have some information, but nothing that we confirm, so we're not going to go into it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where did he breach the building?

BOUCHARD: He drove in through doors with a vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was only one person in that vehicle?

BOUCHARD: That's what it appears at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we know about this fire?

BOUCHARD: Something ignited in the vehicle. That's a work in progress. We're through an abundance of caution clearing the vehicle for IEDs or any explosives. We've got a significant number of bomb dogs on site, bomb tacks on site, and all of that's going to be done to check the boxes.

We have deployed resources all across the county just in case out of an abundance of caution that there may be a secondary site, but we don't have any information at this time to believe that. So, we want people to take a breath. No one was hurt.

We're on top of it. The chief and his team got here fast. Everything that was supposed to happen happened.

Security did their job, and then the responders did theirs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was it a Michigan vehicle?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff, what did the call come out as?

BOUCHARD: I believe it came out as an active shooter, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where and when did you actually neutralize the threat? Where was the threat?

BOUCHARD: The vehicle was in the hallway of the building, inside the building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was shot right there?

BOUCHARD: Again, I can't tell you what he died of until we get a little further. We haven't actually gone into the car. It's still being clear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we do know that the security guards shot this shooter.

BOUCHARD: They shot at.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot at them, but it's unclear if he was killed.

BOUCHARD: You know, in situations like this, you never know if somebody's trapped sometimes to kill themselves. So, the suspect was engaged. It's the clearest sentence I can give you.

DEAN: What is the condition of the security officer?

BOUCHARD: From information I got, he should be OK. He was knocked unconscious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, it was a different security officer who fired the shot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were multiple security officers on scene. The one that was hurt was pulled from that area by his team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's the car registered from?

BOUCHARD: We're not going to get into the specifics on the car at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say what type of car it is here, a truck or an SUV?

BOUCHARD: It was a --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a sheriff in here, do you know who it was? (INAUDIBLE) field scene, the sheriff's scene. I know everybody's here.

BOUCHARD: Everybody's here, more than likely, based on, you know, a couple early pieces of information. The FBI may take the lead. That's yet to be formally determined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there explosives in his vehicle?

BOUCHARD: That's yet to be cleared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much damage to the building?

BOUCHARD: That, I can't even tell you. You can't even see that the hall was completely clear. We had to send people in with gas masks to clear that area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did the car actually enter, all the way in?

BOUCHARD: All the way in the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know how fast he was going?

BOUCHARD: It's hard to say how fast. I mean, he was traveling with purpose down the hall from my look at the video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could have been a far worse situation, considering the severity of it, him getting into the building, whatever may have been in the vehicle. Talk about just the response, those security guards, and how this could be far worse than what we're reporting and seeing right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, absolutely. In fact, what I would tell you is that I am 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 right now. We train on active shooter events a lot.

The county has a consortium, OCTAC, that trains the entire county on active shooter tactics. And that's something that we believe in and that we support. And I think that training certainly helps to mitigate what happened here today.

BOUCHARD: And the chief has been in contact with all of the facilities for weeks, not just on the last couple of weeks, but constantly forever. In the last couple of weeks, even a lot more integrated communication. I mean, there are ways, and all of the agencies in Oakland County are partnering with their religious institutions and schools.

And anytime there's a concern, there's communication, there's extra patrol, extra attention, extra warnings. That had all happened for the weeks leading up to this. And the team inside that building was very queued up.

And I know the chief had communicated directly with their head of security. Weeks ago.

[14:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there any directed threats at this specific temple?

BOUCHARD: There was no specific chatter about any institution or facility in Oakland County, but they were all on alert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff, we see vehicles leaving, is it all clear of an issue? Is the shelter in place still in place?

BOUCHARD: It's still in place until we clear vehicles and make sure there's no IEDs or other secondary potential. But we believe there's nothing active at the moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's likely that there could be another press conference here, maybe within the next two hours. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yep, same place.

DEAN: OK, again, you are listening to local law enforcement, including the Sheriff. They're updating us on what they know at this time. The big takeaway headline there, there are no victims from within that synagogue, no children, no staff members, no clergy members.

At this point, the only person who is dead is this suspect who they say and confirmed did drive their vehicle into that synagogue. There has been a fire. You can see the smoke coming out the top there. But again, at this moment, we're trying to get details on exactly what transpired. We do know that the security that was in that building engaged with this suspect immediately. And you heard the Sheriff there talking about how important that was and how important the response was.

Let's bring in John Miller. John, I know you're talking to your sources. And when we were talking to Andy McCabe just a bit ago, just the idea about how law enforcement is looking at this.

And as we get more details that now we, thanks to your reporting, I believe we can, we know what was in the trunk. These explosives were in there, that there was a rifle that what this kind of starts to take shape and how they will now go about investigating that. What are you hearing from your sources?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, what we're looking at as we listen to what I've been getting from the people I've been talking to, as well as, you know, what Mike Bouchard, the Sheriff, has been telling us is it seems like a layered attack. It may be a lone actor. There is still, and this is common, some confusion as to whether there was anyone else involved.

But what we learned in this last press conference is that this vehicle drove up, targeted the doorways to the school, drove through the doorways, breaching the building at speed, then proceeded down the hallway. Picture this in your mind, you know, some kind of vehicle driving down the hallway of a school. Security confronted the vehicle and the driver.

There were either shots exchanged or just shots from security at the driver who had driven this vehicle into the hallway. We are now told that that individual is deceased, the driver, the suspect in this case. At least one security officer was hit by that truck.

Now, after that, a fire starts in and around this incident. What I'm told from sources who are briefed on the case is that looking into the back of this vehicle, they saw what appears to be explosives. It was described as a number of what they described as mortars.

So when you think about what are those, those could be rockets that are launched in the military sense, or they could be, based on that appearance, the kind of mortars that launch fireworks. Either way, part of this plan might have been to ram their way into the building, use the firearm to confront any resistance, and then set off some kind of conflagration from the back of that vehicle with whatever these items are that appear to be possible explosives. Certainly a fire going on around that vehicle and the potential presence of these items in the back will complicate the response, and that's part of what they've been dealing with now, which is getting that fire out and then getting to those items with the bomb squad to figure out what they are, if they are set on some kind of trigger to go off, or if they can be removed.

So we're going to be at this quite a while, but it seems to be a layered attack, and not without precedent. Remember two things. New Year's Eve, not this past one, the year before that, the individual who had the vehicle filled with fireworks that drove up to the front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas and set off that giant explosion.

He was the only casualty there, but that was a miracle. Or just 30 minutes north of this location here in Michigan, the attack several months ago on the Grand Blanc LDS Church where four people were killed, others were injured, where an individual drove his pickup truck through the doors of the church, filled the back with explosives, set that off, which caused a massive fire, an open fire on the congregation.

[14:45:00]

So we are seeing, as Andy pointed out, we are seeing a model that is familiar to us from prior attacks, but one that was clearly targeted at this synagogue today.

SANCHEZ: John, please stand by with us as we get more information on this incident. We should note that security guard that John mentioned that was struck by the vehicle as it entered the building was rushed to a hospital, and fortunately, according to the sheriff there in Oakland County, will be OK. We're going to stay on top of this story as we head to a quick break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

DEAN: And welcome back. We are going to give you some new information from the scene. We've got religious leaders outside of the synagogue there.

We'll listen to what they had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rabbi, if you could talk about arriving here, being briefed by law enforcement, and your perspective as we're gathered here.

RABBI: Yes, thank you. Our heart goes out to anyone who's affected by this, and we are really so appreciative of law enforcement, the West Brooklyn Police Department, the Sheriff's Department. Their outpouring of support, love, and professionalism is way, way beyond.

We're getting support from all over the world. I'm getting colleagues from different communities all over internationally that are calling, asking how they're doing, and they're all so appreciative of what they see of our local law enforcement and how they're working to protect us and how the community is so loving. Just walking down the street here, how many people stopped by to say, you know, thank you for being here, and so many people are supporting.

So much love in this community that I think we have to, for me personally, it's the focus on the love and the outpour to combat the hate that we see. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you received word from Temple Israel, from any of the clergy, any of the faculty that you know there?

RABBI: Yes, I spoke to many of the clergy there. They are obviously very shaken, but they are strong, resolved to stay strong and to build their community. They're a beautiful community.

West Bloomfield is a beautiful community of so many different stripes, and we're a melting pot here of everyone, and everyone is supporting each other, and thank God they're amazing clergy and they're doing very well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Rabbi. And Chief, you and I have talked many times about all the proactive measures that are taken to keep the public safe.

SANCHEZ: We've been listening to some religious leaders who are there on the scene, just outside Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, after this stunning incident. We're joined now by Rabbi Steve Leder. He's Rabbi Emeritus for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

Rabbi, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. It makes me upset that it's under these circumstances, but I do wonder what is going through your mind right now as you're hearing about this apparent attack.

STEVE LEDER, RABBI EMERITUS, WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE: First, gratitude for law enforcement. Second, my heart is breaking for those parents of those small children in that school. Any parent who gets a call like that and runs to that school, hoping and praying that their child is alive, they're first and foremost in my heart right now.

The other feelings I have are hope. I know this community. I know the rabbis well.

And everyone there, I'm sure, as all of us would be, feels afraid and vulnerable. And I think my message would be, let's not also let them feel alone. Now's the time to show up.

Tomorrow night is our Sabbath. And I really hope that our allies show up. Don't allow this community to suffer alone.

Will our Muslim brothers and sisters show up? Will our Christian brothers and sisters show up? Will the governor, will the senators, will the mayor, will the city council, will they show up and stand by our side?

That would be my next question because it really matters. No one suffers pain better alone. So please, please show up with a full heart.

And also, you know, the other thing I'm feeling is angry. And I can assure everyone of one thing, that no Jewish community, and no Jewish community in America is going to stand around with their hands in their pockets and be a victim. So we need to protect ourselves.

We're grateful to the synagogue security. We need fences. We need bollards.

We need guns. We need cameras. We need it all, at least for now.

And there's no shame in that. There ought to be no reticence in that. This is about saving lives.

And this is about keeping peace. And I'm saying to all of my fellow Jews, the fact that they're trying to scare us away from our Judaism and our synagogues, I know what that means. That means they're simply going to strengthen our resolve and bring us closer together.

And we are not going to stand around with our hands in our pockets.

[14:55:00]

DEAN: And Rabbi, I hear the emotion in your voice, and I think this is such a moment for people who are outside, to your point, outside the Jewish community, to understand how so many Jewish people feel right now. We have an Instagram picture from that synagogue.

They just did an active shooter drill not two months ago with the FBI, because this is the reality in which people live, and they send their children to school and go worship there. And that is a difficult thing for a lot of people to watch this and to balance their joy in being Jewish and celebrating their faith with fear.

LEDER: Well, that's the essence of being a Jew, right? We fall. We rise. We fall. We rise.

You know, I like the metaphor of young sunflower plants are called heliotropic. And what that means is at night, they reorient themselves to the east where the sun rises. And that's the essence of being a Jew and the Jewish people.

We are going to orient ourselves to the sunrise while protecting ourselves from this darkness. And words do matter. I want politicians to understand that.

Words really do matter. And no one's going to suffer this pain better alone, so please show up.

DEAN: All right, Rabbi Steve Leder, thank you for your message. We really appreciate your time.

LEDER: Thank you.

DEAN: We're going to take a break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END