Michigan church attack leaves five dead, investigators search for motive

Authorities are probing why a former U.S. Marine rammed his truck into a Michigan church, opened fire on worshippers, and set the building ablaze, killing five people before dying in a shootout with police.

The attack unfolded Sunday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint. Hundreds were inside when 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, an Iraq War veteran, drove his pickup through the front doors, fired an assault rifle, and set the church on fire, officials said.

Two victims were shot dead, while two more bodies were recovered in the burned-out rubble. At least eight people were wounded, and officials warned more bodies could be found as recovery continues.

Sanford, from nearby Burton, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008. Investigators are searching his home and phone for clues. The FBI said early indications point to hostility toward members of the Mormon faith, but no clear motive has been confirmed.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the suspect’s family is cooperating. “They are trying to understand how premeditated this was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note,” she told Fox News.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called the attack “heartbreaking,” while President Donald Trump condemned it as “yet another targeted attack on Christians” and demanded an end to what he called an “epidemic of violence.”

The rampage was the 324th U.S. mass shooting of 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The Michigan bloodshed came less than 14 hours after another ex-Marine veteran, Nigel Max Edge, allegedly opened fire on a bar in Southport, North Carolina, killing three and wounding five.

A spokesperson for the church, headquartered in Utah, said in a statement: “Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved.”

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