Despite the billions who attend weekly worship services globally with remarkable safety, a recent ambush on one of the nation’s largest synagogues has intensified fear among clergy and worshippers worldwide.
This attack, occurring on Thursday, is the latest in a series targeting religious buildings and has intensified fear among clergy and worshippers worldwide.
Historically, annual fatalities from such assaults rarely exceed a few hundred, yet the current climate has underscored a growing concern.
Here is a list of some of the notable attacks that have occurred on houses of worship in the past 15 years.
March 12, 2026: A man armed with a rifle rammed his vehicle into a major reform synagogue in a Detroit suburb and was fatally shot by security. The attacker drove through a set of doors and into a hallway where something in the vehicle ignited, a sheriff said. In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue, which also houses an early childhood center. No one was injured.
Sept. 29, 2025: An ex-Marine smashed a pickup truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church in Michigan, opened fire and set the building ablaze during a crowded Sunday service and then was fatally shot by police. Four people were killed and eight wounded.
Aug. 27, 2025: Two children were killed and several others were injured in a shooting during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. The shooter, who authorities say died of a self-inflicted gunshot, was a former student at the parish’s school.
Oct. 27, 2018: Eleven Jews attending services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh were fatally shot by a white supremacist with a history of antisemitism. The gunman, Robert Bowers, faces execution after his conviction on multiple federal charges.
Nov. 5, 2017: A family feud is believed to have prompted the deadliest mass shooting in modern Texas history. Twenty-five people, including a pregnant woman, were killed at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
June 17, 2015: A young man walked into a Bible study session at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and killed nine people. The victims included the senior pastor, Clementa Pinckney. The shooter was an avowed white supremacist who is awaiting execution after his conviction on multiple federal charges.
Aug. 5, 2012: Six people at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the town of Oak Creek were shot to death by a 41-year-old white supremacist who had discussed a racial holy war. One of the injured victims died in 2020 from his head wound, becoming the seventh fatality.
Dec. 14, 2025: A father and son fatally shot 15 people at a Hanukkah festival on the famous Bondi Beach. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.
Dec. 6, 2024: As part of a wave of antisemitic attacks, a synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed. The building was heavily damaged, and a congregation member was injured. Australian authorities have accused Iran of directing that attack.
July 27, 2025: Several dozen people were killed in Congo’s Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers.
