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(NEW YORK) — El Nino is increasingly likely to return later this year, bringing potentially significant impacts to our weather, the upcoming hurricane season and global temperature trends, though its timing and strength remain uncertain, experts told ABC News.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an El Nino Watch on Thursday, meaning that conditions are favorable for its development over the next six months. NOAA’s latest forecast puts the chance of El Nino developing in June through August at 62%, with higher odds expected by the fall months.

El Nino refers to the warmer-than-average phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural cycle where sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific rise and fall. The cooler-than-average phase is called La Nina, while near-average conditions are known as ENSO-neutral.

The current La Nina is expected to fade over the next month as equatorial Pacific waters warm, with ENSO-neutral conditions likely to persist through much of the Northern Hemisphere summer.

If El Nino forms, its potential strength remains highly uncertain. NOAA says there is roughly a 1 in 3 chance it will be strong by the end of the year, though current forecasts favor a weak-to-moderate event.

El Nino and La Nina events occur at irregular intervals, typically every 2 to 7 years. El Nino has been somewhat more frequent than La Nina in past observations, but both phases vary in timing and intensity from one cycle to the next.

Forecasters caution that El Nino predictions tend to be less accurate at this time of year and could change in the coming months.

“Keep in mind that because we’re making these forecasts during the spring season, a time of lower model accuracy, so there is large uncertainty,” said Michelle L’Heureux, physical scientist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

This is largely because spring in the Northern Hemisphere is when sea surface patterns across the tropical Pacific Ocean are in a transitional phase.

“Predictions issued at this time of year are typically less reliable due to the so-called boreal spring predictability barrier, a well-known limitation affecting ENSO outlook skill,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement.

There is usually a delay between the onset of El Nino and its associated effects, meaning it will likely be well into the second half of the year before impacts begin to unfold, based on the latest forecasts.

“An estimate for the length of time before consistent impacts are observed once El Nino forms is typically 1-2 months,” Jon Gottschalck, Chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told ABC News. “This varies largely depending on other climate factors active at the time in both the tropics and extratropics, as well as the time of the year.”

Typical El Nino impacts across the United States

Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says.

Experts caution that the impacts on weather patterns are nuanced. Each season is different, and typical El Nino conditions don’t always materialize.

“Every El Nino is different in terms of timing, magnitude, and geographic extent, and such differences lead to variability in the impacts — on temperatures and rainfall, for example — on a global scale,” Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at Columbia Climate School, said.

Typically, during El Nino, the northern half of the United States and parts of Alaska are more likely to see warmer than average temperatures, with near- to below-average temperatures favored along the southern tier of the U.S., most likely from Texas to the Southeast.

For precipitation, wetter than average conditions are typically observed along the southern tier of the U.S. in parts of California, the Southwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast U.S. Below average precipitation is frequently observed across parts of the northern Rockies, south-central Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions.

El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the southern Rockies, south-central Plains, mid-Atlantic and coastal areas of the Northeast with below-average snowfall favored in the northern Rockies, northern Plains and Great Lakes regions.

“The more consistent impacts on precipitation and temperature don’t occur until the winter months — so for 2026-27,” L’Heureux added.

How El Nino could influence hurricane season activity

The impact of El Nino on this year’s Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons will largely depend on when it unfolds and how strong it gets.

El Nino conditions often suppress activity during the Atlantic hurricane season by producing unfavorable atmospheric winds. In the Eastern Pacific, the opposite occurs, with favorable conditions supporting above-average hurricane season activity.

“It will likely suppress the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season somewhat, with increased sinking air and upper level wind shear over the Atlantic,” said Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.

Vertical wind shear, which refers to changes in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, is often a primary factor in below-average hurricane season activity. Strong vertical wind shear can tear a developing tropical system apart or even prevent it from forming, NOAA says.

Other factors, such as sea surface temperatures, also play an important role in tropical cyclone development and strength. Unseasonably warm ocean waters can partially offset the effects of unfavorable atmospheric winds. However, that will largely depend on sea surface temperature readings as the hurricane season ramps up, which is still months away.

“It’s a little early to say how far below average the Atlantic might be. That will also depend on what the Atlantic sea surface temperatures do – right now they’re average or a little below,” Hazelton added.

NOAA is expected to issue its official hurricane season outlook in May. The Eastern Pacific season begins May 15, followed by the Atlantic season on June 1.

Since El Nino is only one of several important variables considered, Gottschalck said it is important to wait until the outlook is released in May.

Global temperature records could be challenged again

The year 2024 ranked as the planet’s warmest year on record, following the last El Nino event, which emerged in mid-2023 and persisted through spring 2024, according to NOAA.

“The warmer ocean temperatures associated with El Nino, together with its tendency to favor warmer conditions in many areas, often contribute to warmer than normal global annual temperatures,” Gottschalck said.

Record highs in global average temperature often occur during El Nino years, but the phenomenon isn’t the sole reason for the record-breaking warmth, climate scientists say. Short-term El Nino temperature spikes occur on top of the long-term global warming trend, which is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

“The WMO community will be carefully monitoring conditions in the coming months to inform decision-making. The most recent El Nino, in 2023-’24, was one of the five strongest on record and it played a role in the record global temperatures we saw in 2024,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement.

According to NOAA, 2025 ranked as the third-warmest year on record globally, trailing 2024 and 2023. The slightly lower ranking came amid recent La Nina conditions, which typically cause a temporary dip in global average temperatures.

Similar to the last event, El Nino typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, NOAA says, meaning a spike in global temperatures often lingers into the year following the event’s onset. The intensity of any upcoming El Nino will play a major role in whether global temperature records could be challenged in the near future.

According to the latest outlook from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, there is more than a 90% chance that 2026 will rank among the five warmest years on record, but the probability of it becoming the warmest year currently stands at about 1%. Those odds could rise significantly in 2027, depending on how the event unfolds.

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(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on people to “lower the temperature” and call out antisemitism following Thursday’s attack on a Detroit-area synagogue that she said on Friday “could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook” had it not been for security.

And while the governor and other leaders said law enforcement is trying to comb through more evidence about the incident, more information is coming to light about the man who was killed by security guards after he rammed his truck into the temple.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who lived in his city, had “lost several members of his own family … in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”

Baydoun joined other leaders in condemning the attack, which took place as children were inside the temple.

“This tragedy comes at a time when communities everywhere are confronting rising hate and senseless violence. No matter where violence occurs, whether in West Bloomfield or anywhere around in the world, harm against innocent people is something we must all stand firmly against,” he said.

“The tensions we see across the world too often find their way into our own neighborhoods, reminding us how deeply connected our shared safety is,” the mayor added.

The suspect was armed with a rifle, and the truck contained fireworks and an unidentified chemical agent that ignited soon after the crash, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

No staff or students inside the synagogue were hurt, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and security all returned home, Whitmer told reporters Friday morning.

The sheriff’s office said one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck in the incident and was “knocked unconscious” but was expected to be okay.

Whitmer said she was angry at the situation and said the Jewish community has been on heightened alert because of the rise in antisemitic attacks, threats and rhetoric since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Anti-Defamation League found that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2024, a 344% increase over the past five years.

“People like the person who attacked this community yesterday get fulminated by rhetoric that they see online and they see on television and hear on the radio. It radicalizes them,” Whitmer said.

Synagogues and other Jewish centers across the country increased their security following the attack in Michigan, according to several police departments including the NYPD.

“Out of an abundance of caution, and given the overall heightened threat environment, we’re continuing to deploy high-visibility patrols to Jewish religious and cultural institutions in the city,” the NYPD said in a statement.

The governor reiterated that there were children under a year old inside the synagogue during the incident.

“My friend Brian said this could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook. Let’s not lose sight of that,” Whitmer said.

“This is not a political debate, this is targeting babies who are Jewish. This is antisemitism at its absolute worst,” she added.

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(TUCSON, Ariz.) — The FBI has recovered additional imagery from cameras at the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

The images were recovered in recent weeks from motion-activated cameras trained on the swimming pool, backyard and side yard, the sources said.

Investigators were unable to recover video footage, but reduced-size, thumbnail images captured when the cameras were triggered by motion.

The cameras recorded nothing suspicious, the sources said.

Investigators were able to observe several people in the back and side yards over an unspecified period prior to the abduction. After Nancy Guthrie was taken, law enforcement officers are seen near the pool.

However, the cameras captured nothing on the night of the abduction, the sources said. Investigators have drawn no conclusions as to why, but one source described it as “odd.”

Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson-area home nearly seven weeks ago, in the early hours of Feb. 1.

The FBI has previously released photos and videos of an unknown armed suspect in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home on the morning of her disappearance, appearing to tamper with a security camera.

The masked man appears to have been at her front door earlier than Feb. 1, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

The Pima County sheriff has repeated this week that he believes Guthrie was targeted, but investigators have released no motive and have identified no suspect.

Savannah Guthrie has offered a $1 million reward, bringing the combined reward between the family and law enforcement to $1.2 million.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

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(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on people to “lower the temperature” and call out antisemitism following Thursday’s attack on a Detroit-area synagogue that she said on Friday “could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook” had it not been for security.

And while the governor and other leaders said law enforcement is trying to comb through more evidence about the incident, more information is coming to light about the man who was killed by security guards after he rammed his truck into the temple.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who lived in his city, had “lost several members of his own family … in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”

Baydoun joined other leaders in condemning the attack, which took place as children were inside the temple.

“This tragedy comes at a time when communities everywhere are confronting rising hate and senseless violence. No matter where violence occurs, whether in West Bloomfield or anywhere around in the world, harm against innocent people is something we must all stand firmly against,” he said.

“The tensions we see across the world too often find their way into our own neighborhoods, reminding us how deeply connected our shared safety is,” the mayor added.

The suspect was armed with a rifle, and the truck contained fireworks and an unidentified chemical agent that ignited soon after the crash, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Nobody inside the synagogue was hurt, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and security all returned home, Whitmer told reporters Friday morning.

The sheriff’s office said one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck in the incident and was “knocked unconscious” but was expected to be okay.

Whitmer said she was angry at the situation and said the Jewish community has been on heightened alert because of the rise in antisemitic attacks, threats and rhetoric over the last couple of months.

“People like the person who attacked this community yesterday get fulminated by rhetoric that they see online and they see on television and hear on the radio. It radicalizes them,” she said.

The governor reiterated that there were children under a year old inside the synagogue during the incident.

“My friend Brian said this could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook. Let’s not lose sight of that,” Whitmer said.

“This is not a political debate, this is targeting babies who are Jewish. This is antisemitism at its absolute worst,” she added.

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(NEW YORK) — Six service members were killed when their refueling aircraft “went down” in friendly airspace in western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

“All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased. The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM said Friday.

The KC-135 aircraft went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET on Thursday when two aircraft were involved in “an incident,” CENTCOM said in a brief statement, confirming that “one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.”

Gen. Dan Caine addressed the crashed refueling plane, saying the incident is being treated as an active rescue and recovery mission.

“The incident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission, and again, was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire,” Caine said Friday. “We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation, as CENTCOM announced this morning, four airmen have been recovered, and the Air Force and US Central Command will provide updates as information becomes available.”

The other aircraft involved was also a KC-135 tanker, according to a U.S. official.

The circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation and the identities of the service members who died in the incident are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified, officials said.

KC-135 aircraft are not equipped with parachutes and do not have ejection seats, which are primarily in fighter aircraft, officials have told ABC News.

Passengers and crew members of KC-135s instead are trained on how to exit the aircraft when it is on land or on water, officials said.

According to a 2008 Air Force profile of the tanker crews, the move to get rid of parachutes was made because the tankers “seldom have mishaps, and the likelihood a KC-135 crew member would ever need to use a parachute is extremely low.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Four service members were killed when their refueling aircraft “went down” in friendly airspace in western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

“Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue,” CENTCOM said Friday.

The KC-135 aircraft went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET when two aircraft were involved in “an incident,” CENTCOM said in a brief statement Thursday, confirming that “one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.”

Gen. Dan Caine addressed the crashed refueling plane, saying the incident is being treated as an active rescue and recovery mission.

“The incident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission, and again, was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire,” Caine said Friday. “We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation, as CENTCOM announced this morning, four airmen have been recovered, and the Air Force and US Central Command will provide updates as information becomes available.”

The other aircraft involved was also a KC-135 tanker, according to a U.S. official.

The circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation and the identities of the service members who died in the incident are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified, officials said.

KC-135 aircraft are not equipped with parachutes and do not have ejection seats, which are primarily in fighter aircraft, officials have told ABC News.

Passengers and crew members of KC-135s instead are trained on how to exit the aircraft when it is on land or on water, officials said.

According to a 2008 Air Force profile of the tanker crews, the move to get rid of parachutes was made because the tankers “seldom have mishaps, and the likelihood a KC-135 crew member would ever need to use a parachute is extremely low.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — The Transportation Security Administration rolled out a new video at airports across the country Friday warning travelers of longer-than-usual wait times and staffing shortages, blaming Democrats for the partial government shutdown.

“You may be experiencing longer-than-average wait times due to the ongoing Democrat shutdown of TSA and the Department of Homeland Security,” the agency’s video message says.

At several airports nationwide, passengers have seen security wait times ranging from 20-30 minutes to as long as two hours at certain points, with travelers being advised to arrive at the airport early to allow adequate time for screening.

The roughly 30-second video message was released as TSA officers begin receiving their first $0 paycheck Friday, with the length of the shutdown nearing a month. The message also encourages travelers to show gratitude toward the TSA officers.

“The TSA Officers you are interacting with have shown up to work despite having missed paychecks. Please take the opportunity to thank the dedicated men and women of the TSA when you fly today,” the video message says.

Assaults on TSA officers have increased during the shutdown, Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told ABC.

“We’ve seen increases in assaults on our TSA officers which is always completely unacceptable, particularly unacceptable right now,” he said in an interview. “And so we just ask our passengers to please be respectful, thank them because they’re doing an incredibly difficult job under incredibly difficult circumstances.”

Stahl said the agency has “zero tolerance” for such behavior and works with the law enforcement authorities, including the Department of Justice, so those responsible face ramifications for their actions.

Though the rate of unscheduled absences by TSA officers has more than doubled since the shutdown began, Stahl said there are no safety concerns about TSA’s operations and that the agency’s focus remains on the impact to wait times.

“We don’t have any significant concerns about the integrity of the screening process right now as it stands, but again this is going to continue to worsen as the days continue and we’re really focused and really urge Senate Democrats to get back to the drawing table, get back to negotiating table, so we can get back to normal operations,” Stahl said.

A similar video featuring outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was rolled out by the agency during last year’s government shutdown. It received pushback from several major airports that refused to play it, citing the Hatch Act — a law that restricts the political activities of federal employees, as well as some state and local employees who are involved in or work in federally funded programs.

On Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked a fourth vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security, refusing to fund the agency without any reforms to ICE and CBP.

The package would have provided funding for the Department of Homeland Security through September. The agency has been shut down since Feb. 14.

Ahead of the vote, Democrats once again attempted to get support to fund other agencies, besides ICE and CBP, that are a part of DHS and that have been shut down. After their effort to fund all other agencies besides CBP and ICE was blocked Wednesday by Republicans, Democrats took a piecemeal approach Thursday, making individual requests to pass funding for TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and FEMA.

“What Republicans are saying is that we want to hold TSA, our airports, the protection of our coastline, the defense of this nation from cyberattacks and our response to emergencies hostage to their determination to continue to fund a law enforcement operation at ICE that is out of control,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said during a speech on the floor as part of the Democratic effort to pass the bills to fund the individual agencies.

Republicans blocked each of those efforts, arguing that the whole of DHS should be funded.

“To my Democrat colleagues, if you have a bill that you want to defund ICE with, put it on the floor. I guarantee you it will get voted down because it is an extremely unpopular position. We are not going to let you get to that result by way of holding everyone else hostage. If you want to support all the agencies in this negotiated bill you have a way to do it,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mont., said.

ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this story.

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(NORFOLK, Va.) — A person was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday.

The school shooting was allegedly committed by a former Army National Guardsman who was convicted of giving material support to ISIS, an FBI official told ABC News.

The gunman opened fire in Constant Hall, an academic building, around 10:43 a.m. and was found dead minutes after officers arrived, Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said during a press briefing.

The suspected gunman was identified as Mohamed Jalloh, who was previously convicted in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic militant group.  

Two of the victims were members of the university’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, according to U.S. Army Cadet Command.

Students in the ROTC class fought the shooter, an Army official told ABC News.

Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017 and released in December of 2024, according to Bureau of Prisons records. 

He allegedly walked into a room and asked if it was an ROTC class, and when someone answered, “yes,” he shot the instructor several times, according to sources.

When he pleaded guilty in 2016, Jalloh admitted he had communicated with a member of ISIS who was located overseas who introduced him to an individual in the U.S. who was actually an FBI confidential informant.

The ISIS member was believed to be actively plotting an attack and believed Jalloh would assist the informant in carrying it out. During one meeting with the FBI informant, Jalloh was asked about a timeline for an operation and commented that it was better to plan an attack for the month of Ramadan, court records say.

Prosecutors had recommended Jalloh serve 20 years in prison. It’s not immediately clear why he was released before the end of his 11-year sentence, though it is not unusual in the federal prison system for inmates to be released before serving their full term of imprisonment. 

A sophomore named Jennifer told ABC Hampton, Virginia, affiliate WVEC that she was waiting for a midterm exam when she heard a group of people saying, “get out, get out, get out.”

“All of a sudden, we heard a commotion. A lot of people rumbling, starting to get up,” she said. “The guy next to me, we looked at each other, we started running, and that’s when we heard, you know, gunshots.” 

She commended the university’s quick communication through alerts, saying, “I’m very, very proud of how quick the situation was handled.”

Shelton told reporters that the investigation is still ongoing and they were combing through the campus for clues.

“We now have to search every single room in that facility. There were students that we found that were hiding and faculty and staff,” he said.

The police did not say how the gunman died.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that the bureau is treating the shooting as “as an act of terrorism,” and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will be working with local police in the investigation.

There’s no longer a threat, the university said, adding that classes are canceled for the rest of the day and Friday.

“Today was a tragic day for the campus of Old Dominion University,” Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill told reporters.

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(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — A suspect is dead after a shooting and vehicle ramming incident at a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

The suspect, who is believed to have had a rifle, died after a shootout with security, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Nobody inside the synagogue was hurt, Bouchard said, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and “heroic security personnel” are all accounted for.

Eight first responders are being treated at hospitals, Henry Ford Health said.

The sheriff noted that one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck and was “knocked unconscious” but is expected to be OK.

Temple Israel in a statement said the security personnel who confronted the suspect are “heroes” and the “teachers followed their training and kept the children safe and calm.”

According to sources, the driver was seen steering around security bollards, and caused a fire when colliding the vehicle into the building’s front doors.

The sheriff said the suspect drove his truck into the building and down the hall.

Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny told ABC News Live that she was heading to Temple Israel when a staff member texted her saying they were hiding from gunshots under a desk.

Kaluzny said she drove directly to the synagogue and tried to go in the building but was not allowed inside, so she then drove to a reunification site where panicked parents were waiting for their children.

She said of the security guard who was hit by the truck, “This is someone who is not Jewish who is absolutely celebrating his relationship with the Jewish community, and we have embraced him and he has embraced us.”

“We are forever grateful to all of them and everyone who showed up to help us get through this,” she said of the synagogue security guards and the police responders.

Officials with the FBI Detroit field office held an active shooter prevention and preparedness training for the staff and clergy at Temple Israel in January, according to a social media post from the FBI. 

“All of the training that we do is, sadly, necessary, but we saw today … that it paid off,” Kaluzny said.

“Everyone knew what to do … the teachers are absolutely heroes,” she added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement, “This is heartbreaking. Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”

President Donald Trump said he’s been “fully briefed” on the incident. 

“I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in Detroit, Detroit area, following the attack on the Jewish synagogue,” Trump said during a women’s history month event at the White House.

“It’s a terrible thing,” he said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that he spoke with local Jewish leaders in Michigan “to receive an update on the situation and to express our solidarity.” 

“I am relieved to hear that there were no casualties,” he said. “This is a grave and serious incident that follows a series of attacks on Jewish institutions around the world. Tonight, we send a message of strength and support from Israel to the Jewish community in Michigan.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — A suspect is dead after a shooting and vehicle ramming incident at a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

No injuries have been confirmed, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.

Preliminary information is that this was an intentional vehicle ramming, sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

According to the sources, the driver was seen steering around security bollards, and caused a fire when colliding the car into the building’s front doors.

The suspect was then engaged by synagogue security, the sheriff said.

The Michigan State Police said it’s urging residents to stay away from the area and said police are increasing patrols at other places of worship in the area.

The Jewish Federation of Detroit said in a statement, “We are aware of an active security incident at Temple Israel. Law enforcement are responding. Our Jewish agencies are currently in precautionary lockdown.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement, “This is heartbreaking. Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”

“I am hoping for everyone’s safety,” she added.

In New York City, the NYPD said it’s continuing to deploy officers to synagogues and other Jewish institutions “out of an abundance of caution.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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