The individual suspected of perpetrating a deadly attack at a church and subsequently setting it ablaze has been identified.
Thomas Jacob Sanford allegedly initiated gunfire within a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service, resulting in the deaths of at least two individuals and causing injuries to multiple others before being shot by law enforcement.
According to information from his mother’s Facebook page, the suspect, a former US Marine who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008, is believed to be Thomas Jacob Sanford. Social media profiles connected to Sanford indicate that he is a family man with a wife and young son.
A significant number of individuals were present inside the church in Grand Blanc, located 60 miles north of Detroit, when a man drove a pickup truck through the front entrance, proceeded to open fire, and then deliberately set the structure on fire, as explained by Police Chief William Renye during a press briefing.
After exiting the church premises, the suspect was pursued by two officers who engaged in a gunfire exchange, resulting in the suspect’s demise. The church was engulfed in flames and smoke for an extended period before the fire was extinguished, with first responders subsequently commencing search operations within the wreckage.
Sheriff Renye mentioned, “We do believe we will find some additional victims once we find the area where the fire was.” Initially, nine individuals were reported as injured, but later, Sheriff Renye confirmed an additional fatality due to a gunshot wound at a hospital without specifying if the deceased had been accounted for in the initial injury count.
As of now, authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack. Investigations are underway at the suspect’s residence in the nearby Burton area. No further details regarding the suspect have been released, including his potential affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church.
This incident adds to a series of violent assaults on places of worship across the United States over the past two decades, including a tragic event in August that claimed the lives of two children during a church service at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis.
President Donald Trump acknowledged being briefed on the incident and lauded the FBI for their swift response. He urged prayers for the victims and their families, emphasizing the urgent need to halt the prevailing trend of violence in the country.
The church building, situated in Grand Blanc Township near residential zones and a Jehovah’s Witness church, is surrounded by a parking lot and expansive grounds. Grand Blanc Township, housing around 40,000 residents outside Flint, serves as the location for this tragic event.
Timothy Jones, aged 48, revealed that although his family belongs to a different Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation located about 15 minutes away, his children had attended a youth fall festival at the Grand Blanc Township ward the evening before the incident. He highlighted the robust sense of community within the faith as a significant factor influencing their relocation to Flint two years prior.
Upon receiving distressing news via messages and calls during their own Sunday service, the members of his congregation initiated a lockdown as a precautionary measure, with law enforcement promptly arriving on the scene. Jones recounted the anxiety and frantic attempts by his children to ascertain the safety of individuals involved in the tragic event.
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