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The Michigan synagogue that came under attack<\/a> this week when an armed man drove his car into the building had for months been strengthening its security apparatus by hiring a seasoned police lieutenant as its security director and holding active shooter training.<\/p>\n That beefed up security, which came in response to rising antisemitism and other attacks at places of worship, is being credited with saving lives in an event that ended with only the attacker dying. <\/p>\n An armed, private security guard shot back at the attacker after he opened fire through his windshield in a hallway inside the building. When the car barreled in, there were 140 students inside in an early childhood learning center. All were unscathed. <\/p>\n The car\u2019s engine caught fire, and the gunman, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen, eventually used his own weapon to fatally shoot himself, according to Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s Detroit field office. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they had not done their job almost perfectly we would be talking about an immense tragedy here today with children gone,” U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said of the building’s security. <\/p>\n Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added: \u201cThese heroes threw themselves in harm\u2019s way, engaging a suspect.\u201d <\/p>\n One of Temple Israel’s rabbis said \u201cit was only a miracle” that none of its members were hurt. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately the entire Jewish community, no matter where we are in the world, we have to plan for things like this,\u201d Temple Israel Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny told CNN.<\/p>\n The effort to bolster security at Temple Israel, outside Detroit, came as many houses of worship have undergone similar efforts, with leaders working to fortify facilities in the wake of deadly attacks.<\/a> Synagogues around the world have increased protections after the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran.<\/p>\n The synagogue last June hired a former police lieutenant, Danny Phillips, to lead its in-house armed security guards as the head of security, with the temple saying it was taking a proactive step \u201cin response to the evolving realities facing Jewish communities.” <\/p>\n Phillips served in law enforcement for almost three decades, including more than 20 years as his department’s advanced firearm instructor, according to the website of a local college where he teaches a police academy course on responding to active assailants. <\/p>\n And in January, Temple Israel’s staff and clergy participated in an active shooter prevention and preparedness training lead by an FBI official, according to the synagogue’s social media accounts. <\/p>\n Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said on Thursday that he had contacted the head of security for the temple just two days before the attack. He credited the thorough preparation ahead of the attack as the reason that there weren\u2019t casualties.<\/p>\n Ron Amann, a member of the safety team at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, not far from the temple, is still recovering after being shot in the leg by a man who tried to attack the Christian church<\/a> last June. The gunman was killed by another team member before he could enter a Sunday service. <\/p>\n Amann, who was armed, said he passed his grandson to his wife when he heard a woman yell, \u201cThere\u2019s a man with a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you sign up for the safety team you have to be willing to stand up and fight, bluntly, rather than run the other direction,\u201d said Amann, 64, who has a metal rod in his lower right leg. <\/p>\n \u201cMy alertness is just at a higher level than it ever was before,\u201d he said. \u201cThe events at the synagogue just keep bringing it back to the forefront. I\u2019m certainly saddened by all that.\u201d <\/p>\n CrossPointe church is 30 miles (48.2 kilometers) from the synagogue. But Pastor Bobby Kelly said he and his staff sheltered in place Thursday when they heard about the attack. Police even drove around the church. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you hear of something happening,\u201d Kelly said, \u201cyou don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going to happen next.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Izaguirre reported from Albany, N.Y. White reported from Detroit. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n