GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN — A man drove his car into the front doors of a Mormon church in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on a Sunday, opened fire, and set the structure on fire. Officials have confirmed that at least four individuals died and at least eight others were hurt in the attack. Law officers shot and killed the person who did it in the car park.
Police named the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old former US Marine from the nearby town of Burton. William Renye, the chief of police in Grand Blanc Township, said that Sanford set the church on fire on purpose, which caused a huge fire that destroyed the edifice.
The Attack and What the Police Did
The Attack: Hundreds of people were inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it happened. Chief Renye says that Sanford slammed his car into the front doors of the church and then started shooting at people inside with an assault rifle.
At first, officials said that two individuals had died and eight had been taken to the hospital. Hours later, when rescue personnel could get to the site, police uncovered at least two more bodies in the burned-out church. Officials said that some persons are still missing, therefore the exact magnitude of the casualties is still unknown.
Immediate Response: Chief Renye applauded the quick actions of two police officers, one from the state’s Department of Natural Resources and the other from Grand Blanc Township. The officers got there within 30 seconds of the first emergency call and started shooting at the guy. About eight minutes after the incident started, Sanford was shot and killed in the parking lot.
Looking for a reason
The investigators are now trying to figure out why the attack happened. Chief Renye said that police will look through the shooter’s house and phone records to find out why he did it. According to Sanford’s service records, he served in the US Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008 and fought in the Iraq War.
The Grand Blanc attack is very similar to something that happened less than 14 hours before in Southport, North Carolina. In that case, police said that another 40-year-old Marine veteran who had been in Iraq, Nigel Max Edge, shot at a bar on the sea from a boat, killing three people and hurting five more.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Michigan incident was the 324th mass shooting in the US in 2025. It was also the third mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours, after the North Carolina shooting and a shooting at a casino in Eagle Pass, Texas, that killed at least two people.
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, said in a statement that she was heartbroken for the people of Grand Blanc. She said, “Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable.” President Donald Trump also spoke out on the shooting, saying it was “yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America” and that the “epidemic of violence” must to stop.