4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan church
A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
What happened
At least four people were killed and eight injured Sunday when a gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, opened fire on the hundreds of congregants and then set the building ablaze, local officials and federal agents said last night. Police killed the suspected gunman minutes after the attack began.
Who said what
Police identified the lone suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine veteran who grew up in the area and lived in nearby Burton. They said they were still trying to uncover a motive. The FBI said it was treating the shooting as an “act of targeted violence.”
“Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor this situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc close.” Sunday's assault was the “latest of many shooting attacks on houses of worship in the U.S. over the past 20 years,” The Associated Press said, and the second mass shooting “in less than 24 hours,” after a gunman shot dead three people and injured five at a bar in Southport, North Carolina, on Saturday night.
What next?
Southport shooting suspect Nigel Edge, also a 40-year-old former Marine, faces three murder and five attempted murder charges. Grand Blanc Township police said Sunday night they had not finished searching through the fire-damaged church and could still find victims buried in the rubble.
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