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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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 8th of August, covering the latest developments.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
U.S. President Donald Trump may have to accept concessions he previously opposed if he wants to secure a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to analysts, as negotiators move closer to a temporary agreement.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Global food commodity prices rose in July to their highest level since January 2023, driven by higher cereal, sugar and vegetable oil prices, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is increasingly penetrating Russia's air-defence network, as both sides stepped up overnight strikes on energy, logistics and port infrastructure.
Türkiye has started restricting commercial ship traffic into the Black Sea due to the government's increasing concern about a surge in Russian and Ukrainian attacks on ships, Bloomberg News has reported, citing unnamed sources.
Taiwan’s cabinet is set to propose a 16 per cent annual increase in defence spending for 2027, taking the total above T$1 trillion ($31 billion) for the first time, according to the official Central News Agency.
Spain checked around 200 travellers arriving from Italy on the first day of reintroduced border controls, following a dispute between the two countries over irregular migration.
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