The man accused of attacking a Michigan synagogue earlier this month "was motivated and inspired by Hezbollah's militant ideology," federal authorities said.

March 31 (UPI) -- The man accused of attacking a Michigan synagogue earlier this month "was motivated and inspired by Hezbollah's militant ideology," federal authorities said.

"Based on the evidence gathered to date, we assess this attack to be a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan," Jennifer Runyan, the FBI special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, told reporters Monday.

The press conference was held nearly three weeks after Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, on March 12, drove his truck loaded with gasoline and fireworks through the front doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, a suburb of Detroit, and down a hallway before engaging in a firefight with security and dying from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In a final update on the FBI investigation into the attack, Runyan said 19 videos, photos and messages he sent to his sister, who is in Lebanon, the morning of the attack reiterated "his intent to commit a mass terrorist attack as well as affirming his Hezbollah-inspired ideology."

"These communications included statements expressing a commitment to commit violent action, references to martyrdom, as well as threats to attack what he described as the largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan," she said, pointing to one meme he sent his sister that stated "Jihad is a gateway to heaven; one that God opens to his chosen ones."

She said the "most concerning" were videos he sent his sister in which he stated in Arabic, "This is the largest gathering place for Israelis in the State of Michigan in the United States. I have booby-trapped the car. I will forcefully enter and start shooting at them. God willing, I will kill as many of them as I possibly can."

At 12:19 p.m., 10 minutes after he sent those videos, he rammed his truck through the synagogue doors.

At 12:20 p.m. he and Temple Israel security guards exchanged gunfire before Ghazali appeared to set off the fireworks from the interior of his vehicle two minutes later.

Police have said a security guard who was struck by the vehicle was the only person injured in the attack.

Runyan suggested the attack was planned to coincide with lunch at the temple. About 140 people were evacuated from the facility, Temple Israel said.

Temple Israel has since published photos of the synagogue online, showing extensive damage was caused to the facility, seemingly due to the vehicle being set ablaze.

Israeli forces previously said that Ghazali's brother, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, was linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah and was killed in a March 5 airstrike on a militant-used storage building in Lebanon.

Runyan said Ghazali began planning the attack early March 9, viewing webpages of local synagogues. That afternoon, he attempted to purchase a weapon from two different individuals, who turned him down. Ghazali then bought a AR-style rifle at a Dearborn Heights gun store, along with 10 rifle magazines and about 300 .223 rifle rounds.

On March 10, he continued to research locations affiliated with Israelis in Michigan and then used his new rifle at a local shooting range before purchasing more than $2,200 of fireworks.

On March 11, the day before the attack, he posted photos and images online and organized his truck, making several runs to the gas station. At 9:40 p.m., he conducted one final online search for "what time is lunch at Temple Israel," Runyan said.

She said that though he began planning for the attack March 9, a review of his online activity showedd a recurring search history for pro-Hezbollah news channels, Iranian news channels and videos about shootouts and bullets beginning in January.

Runyan said he was not subject to any prior FBI investigation, nor was he on the terrorist watchlist. There is also no evidence indicating that he had visited or conducted physical pre-attack surveillance at Temple Israel, sshe added.

"At this stage of the investigation, we have continued to find no evidence of co-conspirators, nor do we have information that indicates a current active threat to the community at this time," she said.