An antisemitic assailant drove a car full of explosives into a Michigan synagogue Thursday just hours after an ISIS-linked gunman launched a deadly attack at a Virginia college, as the U.S. faces an uptick in domestic terror since the Iran war began.
Police in Norfolk, Virginia, said the shooter killed one person and wounded two others on Old Dominion University’s campus before being killed.
According to some media reports, the shooter died while students were subduing him. Local authorities did not share the gunman’s identity, but the shooter was reported to be Islamic State sympathizer Mohamed Jalloh. The naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone was convicted in 2017 of providing support to ISIS. He was also a former member of the Army National Guard. Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his ties to the terror group but was released in December 2024. FBI Director Kash Patel said students helped thwart his “act of terrorism” around 10:50 a.m. Thursday.
“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him — actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” Mr. Patel wrote on X.
In Michigan, a driver rammed a bomb-filled vehicle into a synagogue outside Detroit on Thursday afternoon until security guards shot and killed the attacker. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the guards’ actions kept everyone inside Temple Israel safe, including 140 students at a child-care center attached to the house of worship.
“Everything that was supposed to happen, happened,” Sheriff Bouchard said. “Security did their job, and then the responders did theirs.”
Police said one guard was taken to a hospital after being hit in the initial crash. Officials didn’t share the driver’s identity, but said the suspect was found dead inside his vehicle. Authorities found a stash of explosives in the back of the car.
The two incidents Thursday come less than two weeks after the joint U.S.-Israel military strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The theocratic regime has a reputation for using asymmetric warfare, such as “lone wolf” actors or cyberattacks, in response to military action from enemy nations.
But the Trump administration on Thursday pushed back on reports of an Iranian-led drone swarm reportedly targeting California. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called on ABC News to retract its story about the potential for a drone strike because it provided “false information to intentionally alarm the American people.”
The reporting comes as the U.S. intercepted an encrypted radio broadcast believed to be originating from Iran. Federal authorities suggested the broadcast may have been a call to activate sleeper cells, or covert Iranian agents, spread around the globe.
People who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State have been accused in other attacks in the U.S. Two Pennsylvania men were charged with hurling homemade bombs at a protest outside the home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim. No one was injured because the bombs malfunctioned. Both of the suspects — Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19 — told police they carried out the attempted bombing for ISIS. Mr. Balat also allegedly used sayings associated with the terror group while speaking to investigators. The suspects are American citizens, but their parents emigrated from the Middle East and later naturalized. Mr. Balat’s family hails from Turkey, and Mr. Kayumi’s family is from Afghanistan.
Less than a day after the ayatollah was killed, a mass shooting erupted in Austin, Texas, that is being investigated as a potential terrorist attack. Three people were killed and 19 wounded until police could fatally shoot suspect Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old native of Senegal. A naturalized U.S. citizen since 2013, he was wearing a “Property of Allah” sweatshirt and an Iranian flag T-shirt during the shooting, investigators said.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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