At least four people were killed inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan after an ex-Marine opened fire and reportedly set the building ablaze during a crowded Sunday service before being fatally shot by police.
At least eight others were wounded in the deadly attack, and authorities searched the building ruins for more victims.
The attack took place around 10:25 a.m. local time while hundreds of people were inside the building in Grand Blanc Township, outside of Flint.
The lone suspect reportedly got out of a pickup with two American flags raised in the truck bed and started shooting, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told reporters.
A vehicle that was rammed into the building is surrounded by smoke as a firefighter works on the scene at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.
Lukas Katilius/The Flint Journal via AP
He used gas to start the fire and had explosive devices, though it is unclear if he used them, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency.
Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of the neighbouring small town of Burton. The FBI is leading the investigation and called 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 fled the church, two officers pursued him and “engaged in gunfire,” killing the suspect about eight minutes later, the police chief added.
Two bodies were found during a search of the debris, and Renye said two others died of gunshot wounds. One person was reportedly in critical condition Sunday night. Seven others were in stable condition.
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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.
Investigators were searching Sanford’s residence, but authorities did not release 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, or if he had any particular political affiliation.
Sanford graduated from a nearby high school in 2004 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps 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.
The Clarkston News reported that Sanford served in Okinawa, Japan, before serving in Iraq. His uncle also served in the Marines and his grandfather served in the navy during the Second World War, according to the newspaper.
“I’m excited to go. I’m looking forward to seeing the culture and the people of Iraq. I’ll return with the real news of the situation,” Sanford told the newspaper in 2007.
Sanford earned several awards, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal. His last assignment was with the 2nd Maintenance Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to Sky News.
Ryan Lopez, a former high school classmate who lives in the city of Davison, Mich., told the New York Times he regularly saw Sanford around town and last saw him at a gym in Davison a few weeks earlier.
“He was happy to see me, he just seemed normal,” Lopez said, adding that Sanford was an “avid hunter of geese, turkey and deer.”
Sandra Winter told the Times that she rented a room to Sanford in her home in Jeremy Ranch, Utah, for roughly a year around 2010.
She said that at the time he worked for a local business doing snow removal and landscaping. Winter recalled that Sanford “had creative ambitions as a sculpture artist working with Sheetrock.”
In 2016, Sanford married a woman who had attended high school with him. They reportedly share a 10-year-old son.
A GoFundMe page from 2015 raised more than US$3,000 for the couple’s son, who was born with congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare genetic condition in which the pancreas releases too much insulin, the New York Post reported.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer condemned the violence that took place on Sunday and praised first responders.
“My heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community,” she wrote, adding. “We will continue to monitor the situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc close.”
—With files from The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
