CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 19, 2026--
Coastal States Bank (“CSB”), a local community bank headquartered on Hilton Head Island, today announced its expansion into the Charleston market. This strategic move continues CSB’s growth in the Lowcountry, where the bank has served clients in Beaufort County for more than 20 years.
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To support the expansion, CSB has assembled a locally based commercial banking team with extensive experience serving businesses throughout Charleston and the broader Lowcountry market. Edward Vaughan will serve as Charleston Market President, joined by David Wenger, Senior Commercial Banker, and Thomas Pritchard, Commercial Banker. Together, the team brings more than 50 years of combined banking experience and will focus on developing deposit and loan relationships through C&I lending, commercial real estate lending, and treasury management services for small and mid-sized businesses.
“Our expansion into Charleston builds upon the strong foundation we have established in the Lowcountry and reflects our continued investment in this dynamic region,” said Stephen R. Stone, President and Chief Executive Officer of CSB. “This market values relationships, local expertise, and trust—values that define how we do business. Charleston and this outstanding team of bankers, led by Edward Vaughan, are a natural fit for our relationship-driven banking model. Following our initial public offering and listing on the New York Stock Exchange last July, this investment marks the next exciting chapter in the CSB story.”
“It is an honor to join the CSB team,” said Vaughan. “Charleston’s business community is diverse, entrepreneurial, and deeply connected to this region. Our team is proud to bring a relationship banking approach that combines local insight with the service and financial resources businesses need to succeed.”
About the Company
Coastal States Bank builds relationships by providing a full range of banking services designed for businesses, their owners and individuals looking for a local banking partner. CSB has a community banking presence in the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Beaufort and Charleston), Savannah and the Atlanta Metropolitan market, and serves communities across the country through its Government Guaranteed Lending, Senior Housing, Correspondent Marine and Mortgage Banker Finance lines of business. At present, CSB has approximately $2.3 billion in total assets.
CSB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: COSO).
Coastal States Bank – Local. And Proud of It. ®
For additional information regarding Coastal States Bank, please visit www.coastalstatesbank.com.
Thomas Pritchard, Coastal States Bank, Commercial Banker
David Wenger, Coastal States Bank, Senior Commercial Banker
Edward Vaughan, Coastal States Bank, Charleston Market President
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues has been identified as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.
Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Federal investigators have called the crime an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — An attacker armed with a rifle was fatally shot after ramming his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues Thursday in what federal investigators said was an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.
Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the incident “deeply disturbing and tragic” and said the FBI is leading the investigation.
The agency considers the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” she said at a news conference Thursday. Investigators have not determined a motive yet.
“What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
The vehicle caught fire after crashing into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, just outside Detroit, and driving through a hallway as security opened fire, authorities said.
None of the synagogue’s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured, Bouchard said.
In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said Temple security officers “engaged the individual and neutralized the threat.”
The suspect was found dead inside his vehicle, Bouchard said.
Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was standing at the hallway where the crash happened. She said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.
“When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,” Cohen said.
She said a classroom was near where the car rammed the synagogue and, in addition to the children, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.
“Thankfully, we have had many active shooter drills and our staff is prepared for these situations,” she said. “We do go into lockdown.”
Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents, calling them the “true rock stars of the day.”
About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.
Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel’s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.
“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she told the AP. “I was hoping that it was a false report.”
Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about all that’s going on in the world.
“You never think that this is actually going to happen to you,” she said. “But I know that it’s — it’s just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.”
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.
President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a “terrible thing.”
Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, lamented the fact that his organization had to train and prepare for an attack.
“I’d love to say that I’m shocked, that I’m surprised, but I’m not,” he said during a news conference Thursday.
He added: “This will not change us. This will not deter us and we will continue.”
Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.
“This is heartbreaking,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
It was the second attack at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website, which says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit briefly advised all Jewish organizations in the area to lock down.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.
“We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”
This story has been corrected to show that the shooting at a church north of Detroit happened in September, not October.
Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Law enforcement escort families away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard speaks to media as police respond to scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., on Thursday, March 12 2026. (Jacob Hamilton /Ann Arbor News via AP)
Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Police respond to scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., on Thursday, March 12 2026. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
A woman gathers children as law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue, Thursday, March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
People gather near Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
