FBI: Grand Blanc shooting was ‘targeted’ attack on Mormons: What we know

The FBI confirmed that the Sept. 28 Grand Blanc attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a ‘targeted act of violence’ motivated by anti-Mormon beliefs
Body cam footage shows police take down the shooter
Mormons from around the country have started a fundraiser for the family of the shooter

11:25 a.m. Nov. 3 update:

The Sept. 28 attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc was a “targeted attack” motivated by the shooter’s anti-Mormon beliefs, the FBI confirmed in a recently released video update.

A White House spokesperson previously said the shooter, Thomas Jacob Sanford, held grudges against Mormons,and media reports indicated those grudges could have been fueled by a breakup with a religious girlfriend. The FBI confirmed the motive on Friday.

The FBI also said nine people were injured when Thomas Jacob Sanford crashed his truck into the doors of the church and opened fire on the congregants before setting the church ablaze. Earlier reports had identified eight injured. The FBI did not elaborate on how the count changed.

Sanford killed four people before officers killed him at the scene.

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“Based on upon the facts, circumstances, and information obtained in this case, I am confirming this is a targeted act of violence believed to be motivated by the assailant’s anti-religious beliefs against the Mormon religious community,” Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit field office, said in the video update.

She noted 100 FBI personnel were involved in the investigation into the attack, which she said “not only affected the Grand Blanc community, but also left a lasting impact on our nation.”

The FBI’s update also referred those affected by the attack to a website, fbi.gov/GrandBlancChurchShooting, where they can find resources.

Body cam footage shows shooter killed

Body camera footage released earlier this month shows a Grand Blanc Township police officer run toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while shots ring out then repeatedly order a suspect to “drop the gun” before firing repeatedly.

Officers killed Sanford on Sept. 28 mere minutes after 911 dispatchers received the first call from a victim inside the church, where Sanford had opened fire and then set the building ablaze, killing four people and wounding eight others. The entire incident, from the moment of the first 911 call to Sanford’s killing, lasted 3 minutes and 43 seconds, township Police Chief William Renye said Friday.

Renye commended the state conservation officer and township police officer who were first on the scene.

“This is how law enforcement should respond to these incidents,” he said. “We swear an oath to protect and serve.”

The two officers, whose names have not been released, are on paid administrative leave while the Michigan State Police investigates, a standard protocol after officer-involved shootings.

In the body camera footage, distant shots ring out as the township officer wearing the body camera runs toward the church parking lot. He then shouts to a state conservation officer already on the scene, “I got your back back here, man,” before yelling, “Shoot him!”

Two more shots follow, which Renye said are believed to have come from the conservation officer’s gun. Another person, whom Renye described as a member of the congregation, enters the frame with a handgun that Renye said was never fired.

With weapons trained on Sanford, the officers repeatedly order him to drop his gun before the township officer fires what Renye described as “at least eight shots.”

The 47-second clip ends with near silence, followed by the officer asking, “You good? CO, you good?”

Mormons raising funds for shooter’s family

An “ordinary member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” has raised nearly $400,000 as of Monday afternoon for Sanford’s family.

“Sanford leaves behind a wife and children who must be grieving,” said the organizer of the fundraiser, a man named Dave who said he has no connection to Grand Blanc. “They will face financial hardship and psychological trauma as a result of this week’s horrifying events. On top of that, one of the Sanford sons deals with serious medical challenges that require ongoing care, treatment, and specialized support. In the past, the family attempted to raise funds for him, but with limited success.”

Sanford, 40, of Burton, in 2016 took his son to Texas for experimental treatment for a condition that causes abnormally high levels of insulin, according to media reports at the time.

Many donors on the site GiveSendGo, a Christian fundraising platform, identified themselves as members of the LDS church.

Attacker held grudges against Mormons

Sanford was a person “who hated people of the Mormon faith,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News on Monday.

Separately, friends of the suspect told the New York Times for a story published Monday that Sanford developed those grudges after a breakup with a religious girlfriend years ago.

The White House spokesperson said Sanford’s family is cooperating with FBI investigators as they work to determine why Sanford drove his truck into the doors of the church before opening fire on the congregants and then setting fire to the building before police killed him in a shootout at the scene.

Renye, the township police chief, said in a Facebook video posted Tuesday that the FBI hopes to wrap its investigation by the end of the week.

law enforcement stand next to a truck with American flags on it — ATF police stand by the vehicle used to ram the exterior of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Unrelated barricade breach

Renye, in a Facebook video posted Tuesday, said that a man who drove through a police barricade at the church on Sunday had a .22-caliber rifle in the passenger seat but police do not believe he had “ill will.”

Police also do not believe the 21-year-old Flint man is connected to the shooting, Renye said.

The man, whom Renye did not identify, was arrested and lodged at the Genesee County Jail.

4 killed, 8 injured

Police said Sept. 29 that Sanford killed four people and injured eight others.

Those injured range in age from 6 to 78. Five were hit by gunfire and three were treated for smoke inhalation at Henry Ford Health Genesys Hospital. Two of those treated for smoke inhalation were discharged from the hospital, while the third remained intubated on Monday afternoon.

Of those with gunshot injuries, a hospital leader said, one person sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the chest and abdomen and remains in critical condition, while others sustained injuries to the abdomen, leg and arm. One of the shooting victims died in the emergency department after the attack.

Police have not released the identities of those killed or injured, but Bridge Michigan was able to confirm the names of some.

A bouquet of flowers on the side of the road. Police tape and a law enforcement car are in the background. — Flowers lay on the ground just outside the police tape surrounding the scene where a gunman, identified as a Burton resident, rammed his truck into the front doors of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday, opened fire on the congregants and — using an accelerant — set the building on fire. (Robin Erb/Bridge Michigan)

How you can help

Several GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help victims and the families of victims of the attack.

Renye urged donors to be cautious giving to GoFundMe accounts because of the possibility of fraud.

Instead, he urged givers to support a Victim Compassion Fund set up through a local credit union.

Gunman was former Marine, hunter

Online and public records show Sanford was a former Marine who served in Iraq and had owned his Burton home since 2016.

home of Thomas Sandford from google maps — This image from Google maps shows the home of Thomas Sanford, the man identified as the shooter at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc. (Google Maps)

He drove past several other churches nearer to his home to reach the Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township.

He was the father of a 10-year-old who in 2016 underwent experimental treatment in Texas for abnormally high levels of insulin.

Another tragedy in Michigan

Sunday’s attack was another in a long line of mass shooting events in Michigan that included the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, the 2023 shooting at Michigan State University, and last year’s shooting at a splash pad in Rochester Hills.

Shootings have become so common that communities now share a playbook on how to respond to such tragedies.