A US Marine veteran flying American flags on his pickup truck rammed into Michigan Church of Latter-day Saints Sunday morning and opened fire on hundreds of congregants after setting the church ablaze.
At least four members of the church are dead and eight other injured. The killer, 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, was shot and killed by police in the parking lot, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said that one church member died of gunshot wounds on the scene and another died later Sunday at Ford Genesys Hospital. On Sunday evening, Reyne said that the remains of two other people were found in the charred debris of the church and had been identified.
More bodies may be found in the rubble.
“We’re working tirelessly to find additional bodies,” he said. “The entire church has not been cleared because it’s a total loss due to the fire. … I don’t know how many people are unaccounted for at this time.”
The FBI said it was leading the investigation into what acting special agent in charge Reuben Coleman called “an act of targeted violence.”
James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that Sanford used gasoline to start the fire and had explosives, according to The Associated Press. It wasn’t clear if he used the explosives, Dier said.
According to ABC News, the murderer served in the Marines from June 2004 to June 2008, rising to the rank of sergeant and earning multiple ribbons and medals for his service. That time included one tour in Iraq. Sanford was also the father of a son who, according to the network, “grappled with serious health obstacles after he was born.”
He was from the town of Burton, about six miles from Blanc Township, NBC News reported. Both towns are suburbs of Flint. Images posted by family online showed him wearing Trump regalia. Other images show he was a frequent hunter.
Unlike several previous shootings, federal authorities have not immediately suggested that Sanford’s political views played a part in his murderous rampage. Friends, however, indicated he may have suffered from PTSD.
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[Featured image: Fire and law enforcement officers stand outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 in Grand Blanc Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)]
