JD Vance calls Temple Israel attack ‘disgusting’ during Michigan visit
JD Vance made comments on the Temple Israel attack while delivering a speech at EDSI, a manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, on March 18, 2026.
Images from inside Temple Israel following the attack earlier this month show scorched hallways, charred and discolored group photos on the wall and meals left behind – macaroni and cheese, grapes and cookies partially eaten on wooden tables with toddler-sized chairs.
The West Bloomfield synagogue on Thursday, March 19 posted photos on social media of the devastation left after a man rammed a truck into the building, got stuck, faced off with security and reportedly fatally shot himself with more than 100 toddlers in the building at the synagogue’s early childcare center. The goal in sharing the photos was to “take back control of our narrative,” synagogue officials wrote in the post.
“This week, several videos and photos have made their way into the media, which have caused considerable harm to the survivors of last week’s attack. … We share these images because our community deserves to see our building through eyes of love, not through the lens of spectacle,” the post states. “This is our sacred space, and we will be the ones to tell its story.”
The photographer is Emily Elconin, according to the Facebook post.
No children or staff were harmed in the March 12 incident, but a security guard was injured and numerous law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation. The suspect’s truck, which had a large amount of fireworks and gasoline inside it, caught fire and lit the building aflame in the incident, police said.
The synagogue directed the public to a donation website for rebuilding.