A tragic shooting rocked a small Michigan community on Sunday when a gunman opened fire inside a church, killing at least four people and injuring eight others before setting the building ablaze.
The attack happened early that morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a town northwest of Detroit. Police say the shooter, Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq, drove his car straight into the church during a crowded service. He then unleashed gunfire with an assault rifle on worshippers inside.
Chaos erupted as flames quickly spread through the building. By evening, authorities recovered two more bodies from the debris, pushing the death toll from one to four. Among the injured were children, all rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye shared these details at a press conference, calling the scene devastating.
Sanford didn’t make it out alive. He exchanged shots with responding officers and was killed at the church. Now, investigators are digging into his background, searching his home and phone records to uncover a possible motive for this Michigan church shooting.
Earlier in the day, police warned people to stay away from the area as firefighters battled the blaze and emergency crews handled the aftermath. The entire church was gutted by the fire, leaving the tight-knit community in shock.
President Donald Trump weighed in on social media, saying he’d been briefed on the “horrendous” Grand Blanc shooting. He described it as “yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States,” noted the FBI’s presence on site, and demanded an end to the “epidemic of violence” gripping the country.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer echoed the heartbreak, posting on X that her thoughts are with Grand Blanc families. “Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable,” she wrote, promising updates as the investigation continues into this shocking assault on a house of faith.
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