Within hours of a radical shouting "Allahu akbar" and opening fire Thursday in an Old Dominion University classroom, an armed suspect rammed a vehicle into a Detroit-area synagogue and school, then exchanged fire with security personnel.

The suspect was killed, and the guard was injured.

'Today's attack is every community's worst nightmare.'

Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield Township with roughly 12,000 members as well as a preschool and religious education school, revealed in a statement that "everyone is safe," including the preschool students and staff members.

"As you have no doubt heard, Temple Israel was the victim of a terrorist gunman who was confronted and neutralized by our security personnel who are truly heroes. Our teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm," stated Temple Israel, which ran an active-shooter training exercise six weeks ago.

Following reports that the vehicle used in the attack was registered to a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Dearborn, Michigan, the Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old Lebanese native who first entered the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 spousal visa.

RELATED: Heroic students subdued suspected terrorist in Old Dominion attack and 'rendered him no longer alive,' says FBI

Jewish volunteer EMTs near Temple Israel following the attack. Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images

Ghazali was granted American citizenship "under the Obama administration" on Feb. 5, 2016 — just a year after applying for naturalization, the DHS noted.

A neighbor told the Detroit Free Press that Ghazali lived in Dearborn Heights and recently lost his family in an Israeli strike in Lebanon.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun, among the officials who promptly condemned the attack, confirmed in a statement that "earlier this month, [the suspect] lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon."

A Lebanese official told NBC News that two of the suspect's adult brothers — alleged members of Hezbollah — were also among those killed in the recent Israeli strikes. A March 6 report claimed that Qassem and his brother Ibrahim Ghazali were killed in Western Bekaa along with Ibrahim's children Ali and Fatima.

Lebanese authorities claim that at least 687 people, including 98 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Feb. 28, reported the BBC. The Israel Defense Forces noted earlier this month that as part of an "enhanced forward defense posture," it had taken positions inside Southern Lebanon and was "conducting targeted strikes against Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure."

"All of us have thoughts of maybe why this happened," Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said on Thursday. "But we don't operate in a world where we can presume something. We have to determine it through investigation."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) stated, "Today's attack is every community's worst nightmare. We saw incredible people step up today to save lives and stop the suspect. Our state is grateful to the security personnel for their bravery and law enforcement who jumped into action to keep students safe."

The West Bloomfield Police Department said that it is working in concert with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police, and other agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

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