Authorities on Monday identified the gunman who rammed a pickup truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, before opening fire on worshipers and setting the building ablaze as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran and former U.S. Marine from nearby Burton. Police said at least four people were killed and eight others were injured in the Sunday morning attack. Sanford was shot dead by officers within minutes of the first 911 call. The FBI said it is leading the probe and is treating the assault as “an act of targeted violence.”
Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told reporters that the attack began at about 10:25 a.m. when a pickup smashed through the church’s front entrance during a service attended by “hundreds” of congregants. “We do believe we will find additional victims once we have that scene secured,” Renye said Sunday night, noting that the building became a total loss as flames spread through the structure. Two officers—one from Grand Blanc Township and a Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer—engaged the suspect and fatally shot him by 10:33 a.m., roughly eight minutes after the first 911 calls.
Officials said the shooter used an accelerant—“probably gasoline,” according to a federal agent—before the blaze engulfed the meetinghouse. James Deir, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in charge, said investigators recovered “suspected explosive devices” as they processed the scene, while the FBI’s acting Detroit chief, Reuben Coleman, described the incident as targeted. Investigators planned to execute search warrants at Sanford’s residence and to examine his electronic devices as they sought a motive.
Witnesses described a chaotic few moments between the initial crash and the gunfire. “I heard a big bang and the doors blew,” one parishioner told WXYZ-TV. “I lost friends in there and some of my little primary children that I teach on Sundays were hurt. It’s very devastating for me,” said a woman who identified herself as Paula. Police said one victim died at the scene, another died at a hospital and two additional victims were found later in the debris once firefighters had contained the blaze. Eight others remained hospitalized Sunday night, with one in critical condition.