Pope Leo’s brother’s home targeted with false bomb threat
Pope Leo XIV reading his speech as he lead a prayer vigil for peace at St.Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on April 11, 2026. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW LENOX, Ill.) — One of Pope Leo’s brothers was the victim of a false bomb threat on Wednesday night, according to the New Lenox, Illinois, police department.
Officers received a call at 6:29 p.m. for a reported bomb threat at a private residence, officials said.
“Upon receiving the report, officers were immediately dispatched to the scene and established a secure perimeter to ensure the safety of nearby residents. Out of an abundance of caution, surrounding homes were notified, and asked to evacuate,” according to a statement from the police department. “Specialized units, including the Will County Sheriff’s Office bomb sniffing K9 were requested to assist in the investigation.”
There were no explosives, and no injuries, according to police.
“The incident remains under investigation as authorities work to determine the origin of the report. Making false reports of this nature is a serious offense and may result in criminal charges,” the statement says. “Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the NLPD at 815-485-2500 or submit an anonymous tip through the Village of New Lenox website.”
Caution tape near the front entrance of Temple Israel a day after an active shooter incident on March 13, 2026, in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Authorities say a suspect who rammed a vehicle into the synagogue and opened fire was killed after an exchange of gunfire with security, and the incident is being investigated as a targeted act of violence. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — The man armed with fireworks who rammed his truck into a West Bloomfield, Michigan, synagogue was carrying out “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan,” the FBI said.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was “motivated and inspired by Hezbollah’s militant ideology” for his March 12 attack at Temple Israel, Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said at a news conference on Monday.
Ghazali — who wanted to kill as many people as possible, Runyan said — died at the scene. Dozens of law enforcement officers were hurt in the incident but nobody inside the synagogue was injured, authorities said.
On March 9, three days before the attack, Ghazali, 41, started looking at web pages for local synagogues, Runyan said.
He tried to buy a gun from two different people. After they said no, he bought an AR-style rifle at a gun store, along with 10 rifle magazines and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition, she said.
Ghazali searched online for phrases including “largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan” and “Israelis near me,” and tried to delete his search history, Runyan said.
He also practiced using his gun at a shooting range and purchased more than $2,200 worth of fireworks, she said.
On March 11, he began adding photos to a Facebook photo album that he called “vengeance,” Runyan said. He posted images that included Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, she said.
On March 12, the morning of the attack, Ghazali posted numerous photos of his deceased family members to Facebook, and he wrote online, “We will seek retribution for his sacred blood,” according to Runyan.
Ghazali’s two brothers and several other relatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 5, a town official in Mashghara, Lebanon, told ABC News earlier this month.
On March 12, while sitting in the synagogue parking lot, Ghazali sent his sister “19 videos, photos and messages that reiterated his intent to commit a mass terrorist attack, as well as affirming his Hezbollah-inspired ideology,” Runyan said.
Ghazali also exchanged several short phone calls with his ex-wife shortly before the attack, Runyan said. The ex-wife called local police requesting a welfare check, she said.
On the afternoon of March 12, Ghazali plowed his truck into the synagogue and struck a security guard, authorities said. When Ghazali’s truck jammed in a hallway, he opened fire, authorities said, and security guards returned fire.
The synagogue became engulfed in fire. Runyan said Ghazali used approximately 35 gallons of gasoline.
Ghazali died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during an exchange of gunfire with security guards, officials said.
Dozens of law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said, but nobody inside the synagogue was hurt, including all 140 students at the building’s preschool. The security guard hit by the suspect’s truck was expected to be OK, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
Runyan said she couldn’t say whether Ghazali was inspired by the strikes in Iran but did say he was “engaging in that ideology” before his relatives’ deaths. She said the FBI has not been able to verify if Ghazali — a U.S. citizen with no criminal history — was in Hezbollah.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome Gorgon said at Monday’s news conference, “Had this man lived, I’m convinced that my office would prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he committed the federal crime of providing material support to Hezbollah.”
Ghazali “acted under Hezbollah’s direct and control,” Gorgon said. “Terrorist propaganda is designed to activate the so-called ‘lone wolf’ to act on behalf of the terrorist organization.”
A San Jose teen is facing criminal charges for allegedly manufacturing ghost guns in his bedroom. (Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office)
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) — An 18-year-old is facing charges for allegedly using a 3D printer to manufacture ghost guns in his bedroom, according to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office.
Jacob Reyes allegedly had two working 3D weapon printers and 27 finished or almost finished guns in his room in San Jose, California. Some of the guns were modified to act as machine guns, and ammunition was found in the home, according to the DA’s office.
All of the weapons seized from Reyes’ bedroom, except one, were manufactured using the printers, the DA’s office said.
Reyes was arraigned on Thursday on charges related to unlicensed manufacturing of firearms using a 3D printer and felony charges of possession of a machine gun, the DA’s office said.
If convicted, he faces prison time, according to the DA’s office.
“There is a black market of weapons thriving right under our noses,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Once again, the DA’s investigators and their law enforcement partners have taken off the streets an arsenal of untraceable, illegal, and deadly weapons.”
An undated photo of Sheridan Gorman who was shot and killed in Chicago on March, 19, 2026. (Courtesy of the Gorman Family)
(CHICAGO) — An undocumented immigrant from Venezuela has been arrested in the killing of a Loyola University Chicago student, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Sheridan Gorman, 18, was walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach Park, less than a mile from the university’s Lake Shore campus, in the early hours of March 19 when a man walked up to the group and shot Gorman, according to Chicago police.
“She had her entire life ahead of her — her education, her future, her family, the countless lives she would have touched,” Gorman’s family said in a statement. “All of that was taken in a moment.”
The suspect, Jose Medina, was arrested on Friday on charges including first-degree murder and is due at a detention hearing on Monday, police said.
DHS said it’s lodged an arrest detainer as the agency pushes for Medina to be kept behind bars.
DHS said Medina has been apprehended and released twice. He was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and released in May 2023, and the next month, he was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago and released, DHS said. The Chicago Police Department said it doesn’t provide criminal histories.
Gorman “was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
Gorman’s family also commented on the immigration policies, saying, “We are gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime. When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent.”
“Accountability must be complete,” the family said.
