GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich.— An ex-Marine smashed a pickup 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. At least four people were killed and eight wounded, and authorities were searching the building ruins for more victims.
The attack occurred about 10:25 a.m. while hundreds of people were in the building in Grand Blanc Township, outside Flint.
The man got out of the pickup with two American flags raised in the truck bed and started shooting, Police Chief William Renye told reporters. The attacker apparently used gas to start the fire and also had explosive devices but it wasn’t clear if he used them, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of the neighboring small town of Burton. The FBI is leading the investigation and considered it an “act of targeted violence,” said Ruben Coleman, a special agent in charge for the bureau.
Officers responding to a 911 call were at the church within 30 seconds, Renye said. After the suspect left the church, two officers pursued him and “engaged in gunfire,” killing him about eight minutes later, the chief said.
People inside the church shielded children and moved them to safety during the attack, Renye said. Flames and smoke poured from the large church for hours before the blaze was extinguished.
Two bodies were found during a search of the debris, and Renye said more victims could be found as searchers made their way though the entire church. One of the wounded people was in critical condition Sunday evening and the seven others were stable.
Renye said “some” people were unaccounted for, but he didn’t have an exact number.
Michigan State Police Lt. Kim Vetter said bomb threats were made at other churches in the area after officers shot and killed Sanford. No bombs were found and police were investigating the threats.
The motive not yet clear
Investigators were searching Sanford’s residence but authorities did not say what they found or provide any additional details about him, including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.
Sanford served in the Marines from June 2004 through June 2008, working as an automotive mechanic and vehicle recovery operator, according to military records obtained by The Detroit News. He was deployed to Iraq from August 2007 through March 2008 and had the rank of sergeant.
It was the latest of many shooting attacks on houses of worship in the U.S. over the past 20 years, including one in August that killed two children during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis.
It also was the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours. On Saturday night, a man in a boat opened fire on a crowd in Southport, North Carolina, killing three and injuring five,
President Donald Trump applauded the FBI for its response to the Michigan shooting in a social media post. Local authorities said the FBI was sending 100 agents to Grand Blanc Township, a community of roughly 40,000 people.
“PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote.
The church building, circled by a parking lot and a large lawn, is near residential areas and a Jehovah’s Witness church.
Brad Schneemann, whose home is about 400 yards (365 meters) from the church, told The Associated Press that he and his daughter heard “two rounds of four to five shots” around 10:30 a.m. “Then, we really didn’t hear anything for a while” before they left their home to see what was happening.
Tight-knit church community
Timothy Jones, 48, said his family is part of another Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation, or ward, about 15 minutes away, but that his children were at the Grand Blanc Township ward Saturday night for a youth fall festival. He and his family moved to Flint two years ago in large part because of how strong the faith’s community is in the area, he said.
As people in his congregation got word of the shooting from texts and phone calls during their Sunday service, his ward went into lockdown and police came as a precaution, he said. His children were “frantically, just trying to get word that people were OK.”
Sundays are “supposed to be a time of peace and a time of reflection and worship,” Jones said. Yet in the wake of violence at other houses of worship, a shooting “feels inevitable, and all the more tragic because of that,” he added.
The shooting occurred the morning after Russell M. Nelson, the oldest-ever president of the Utah-based faith, died at 101. The next president is expected to be Dallin H. Oaks, per church protocol.
“The church is in communication with local law enforcement as the investigation continues and as we receive updates on the condition of those affected,” spokesperson Doug Anderson said.
