Michigan Church Shooting Leaves 4 Dead
USA – According to police reports on Sunday, at least 4 people were killed in a Michigan church shooting and 8 others injured after a gunman opened fire in a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township.
Additional bodies were found in the church, bringing the death toll to four, Grand Blanc Police Chief William Renye told reporters.
There is a total of “five deceased persons from this tragic incident” so far, including the suspect, Renye said, adding he was killed in a gunfight with police.
“We do not have names of victims at this time,” the Grand Blanc Township Police Department said earlier in a statement.
The 40-year-old suspect drove his vehicle through the front doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before exiting and “firing several rounds at individuals within the church,” according to the police chief.
Michigan authorities have identified the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a former US marine and Iraq war veteran from the neighboring city of Burton.
“The service was active. There were hundreds of people within the church,” Renye said earlier.
A fire broke out at the church during the shooting, but police later confirmed that it had been contained.
“There was a fire that occurred, and we believe that it was deliberately set by the suspect,” Renye said.
Authorities will search the suspect’s residence and investigate the motive behind the attack.
US President Donald Trump said he has been briefed on the “horrendous shooting” and labeled it as a “targeted attack” on Christians and the US.
“This epidemic of violence in our country must end, immediately,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting local authorities in the investigation.
