Madeline Halpert
US Reporter

Lisa Stern, a member of the temple, went to the congregation this afternoon after she heard the news about the vehicle ramming.

A member of the temple for over 20 years, she has several friends who were working inside the building today, including rabbis and a social worker. But she chose not to text them to see if they were alright, worried that the pinging of their phones could be dangerous in the event of a shooting.

Waiting across the street, Stern says she saw anxious parents and grandparents arriving to make sure their children at the preschool were safe. The students were quickly evacuated and no one was harmed, police said.

"At first, when they didn't know, the parents were like falling to the ground," she says. "Thankfully it was minutes until they said the kids were safe."

Stern says it seems like the suspect had knowledge about the temple, which she says is set far back and not visible from the road.

"They obviously knew where they were going because they knew where to do maximum damage," she says.

Image source, Jeff Kowalsky/ AFP via Getty Images

This photo shows the police response to the incident at the Michigan synagogue.

The white truck in the centre of the image is the sheriff's local command centre, and the black truck to the left of frame is the police command centre.

Yellow school buses are surrounded by police vehicles.

You can also see several officers wearing tactical gear and holding rifles.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Sheriff Bouchard says it is "hard to say" how fast the suspect's vehicle was moving after it rammed into the synagogue and drove down a hallway.

The sheriff says video he has seen shows the suspect "was travelling with purpose down the hall".

He says in the weeks leading up today's incident, local law enforcement officials had been in constant communication with religious institutions and schools in the area.

He says police had "communicated with their head of security weeks ago," referring to the temple's security team.

"There was no specific chatter about any institution or facility in Oakland county but they were all on alert."

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Shelter in place advisories are still in effect until police clear the area and make sure there are no explosives, the sheriff says.

But he reiterates that he does not believe there's an active threat at this time.

Another press briefing is expected in about two hours.

More now from Oakland County Michigan Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who says the suspect rammed a vehicle into the synagogue, injuring and knocking unconscious one security guard.

The suspect drove his vehicle through the doors of the synagogue and then down a hallway, and his vehicle caught fire.

Another guard engaged the suspect in gunfire.

There are no other victims or injuries, and the shooter is dead, the sheriff says. He does not confirm how the suspect died.

Police are clearing the area and checking for explosives now, but there is no active threat to the community, the sheriff says.

"We want people to take a breath," the sheriff said. "No one was hurt... everything that was supposed to happen happened."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, US Pool

The sheriff is giving an update on the incident. He says the suspect is deceased.

We will bring you more updates shortly.

Jewish congregations in Michigan are on edge after the incident at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, with one congregation in Ann Arbor, Michigan, saying in an email to members that they are "deeply upset about the shooting".

"We are still assessing the situation, but we are already taking extra security precautions," the temple said, adding they were in touch with local police for security measures.

The suspect involved in the attack at the synagogue in Michigan is dead, law enforcement sources tell the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

It comes after multiple other US media outlets reported that the suspect is dead.

Police have not yet publicly commented.

The shooting took place in the township of West Bloomfield, which is located in the US state of Michigan. It's less than a half an hour drive from the city of Detroit.

The town has a population of just over 66,000.

The suburbs surrounding Michigan's largest city of Detroit are home to a large Jewish population. About 71,000 Jewish people reside in Metro Detroit, according to the most recent survey from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, comprising the vast majority of Michigan's Jewish population.

And Temple Israel - the first synagogue in Metro Detroit founded in 1941 - is the largest reform synagogue in the US, according to the congregation's website. It has about 3,500 families who are members, or about 12,000 congregants.

If you're just joining us, here's what we know:

• Police are responding to reports of an "active shooter" at a synagogue in Michigan
• The suspect is still at large, officials say, and shelter orders are in place for nearby areas
• Shots were fired and a vehicle was involved, the county sheriff says
• Videos show smoke billowing from the roof of a building, and there are a large number of police vehicles nearby
• There has been no confirmed injuries, other than possibly the suspect, the sheriff says

• More police presence is expected at other Jewish facilities in the area, authorities say, and a nearby school has been evacuated
• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says "antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan" and that she is "hoping for everyone's safety"

We'll bring you more details as they unfold.

We're now getting some pictures from Temple Israel, a synagogue and school in Michigan, where police have responded to a shooting incident.

Image source, CBS News

Image source, CBS

Image source, US Pool

Image source, US Pool

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has released a statement on the shooting, saying she is tracking reports of the incident and is working with state police to get more information.

"This is heartbreaking. Michigan's Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace," she says.

"Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan. I am hoping for everyone's safety."

Image source, Reuters

More now from Sheriff Bouchard's update.

He says the suspect approached a security guard, who then engaged them.

Bouchard confirms that shots were fired and a vehicle was involved. He did not give further details on the vehicle.

He adds that everyone has been moved out of the neighbouring school and daycare - and all Jewish facilities in the area will have increased police presence.

"It's a work in progress," he says, regarding the search for the suspect, and people in the area should continue to shelter in place until their area is cleared.

Image source, US Pool

FBI Director Kash Patel says federal officers from the Detroit office are at the scene.

He says they are working with "partners in Michigan and responding to the apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation out of Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan".

There have been no confirmed injuries, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says, adding that the suspect remains at large.

We'll bring you more information from the sheriff's statement shortly.

Madeline Halpert
US Reporter

Temple Israel of West Bloomfield has more than 3,000 members, making it one of the largest congregations for reform Jews in the US. The congregation is home to a preschool, the Early Childhood Learning Center.

"Everybody sends their kids to preschool there if they live in that area," one local resident tells me.

The resident said she was at the temple yesterday about the same time of the reported shooting today, about 12:30 local time, when parents were there to pick up dozens of children.

There are usually armed guards at the school.

In an advisory about the ongoing incident at Temple Israel, Michigan State Police have asked community members to stay away from the area.

"Troopers are also increasing patrols at other places of worship in the district," police say.

The Jewish Federation of Detroit says it is "aware of an active security incident at Temple Israel" and "law enforcement are responding".

"Our Jewish agencies are currently in precautionary lockdown We ask community members to stay away from the area at this time," it says in a social media post.

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reports that the federation has asked all local Jewish organisations to go into "lockout protocol", limiting people coming into and out of their buildings.

Image source, US Nets

Local Michigan news outlet Fox 2 Detroit is broadcasting video of the scene at Temple Israel.

In the video, smoke can be seen billowing out of the roof of the building as police cars and officers are posted out front.

Teachers in Farmington Hills, a city right next to West Bloomfield, Michigan, where Temple Israel is located, are all on lockdown.

Video from the scene shows a host of police cars and officers surrounding the temple.