A quiet Sunday service turned into horror when a man drove his car through the doors of a church in Grand Blanc, Michigan, opened fire with an assault rifle, and set the building ablaze — killing at least four people and wounding eight others before being shot dead by police.
Authorities identified the attacker as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, a former U.S. Marine and Iraq war veteran from Burton, Michigan.
Police say Sanford deliberately set fire to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints using an accelerant, likely gasoline, and may have planted explosives that are still being investigated.
Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told reporters that hundreds of worshippers were in the church when Sanford struck.
“The matatu was overtaking and then it rammed into the trailer causing 13 fatalities and three others seriously injured,” he said.
Police officers arrived within 30 seconds of emergency calls and engaged Sanford in a gun battle. He was fatally shot in the church parking lot about eight minutes after the rampage began.
Officials from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are treating the incident as a case of targeted violence. Investigators are searching Sanford’s home, electronic devices, and background for a possible motive.
Paula, a church member and Sunday school teacher, told local station WXYZ that she lost friends and some of the children she teaches were injured:
“I heard a big bang and the doors blew open. I lost friends in there, and some of my little primary children were hurt. It’s devastating.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the attack on Truth Social, calling it “another targeted attack on Christians” and urging immediate action to stop what he called an “epidemic of violence.”
The tragedy marked the 324th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It was also the third mass shooting in less than 24 hours, coming hours after another Iraq war veteran was accused of killing three people in North Carolina, and a separate shooting at a Texas casino that left two dead.
