Saturday, March 29, 2025
A 40-year-old Iraq War veteran, identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, has been arrested following a combined vehicle and gun attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday morning.
Police Chief William Renye reported that Sanford drove a vehicle through the church’s front doors, then exited and began firing an assault rifle at the hundreds of congregants inside. US military records confirm the suspect was a Marine who served in the Iraq War from 2004 to 2008.
Seven shooting victims are currently in stable condition, with one remaining in critical condition. Authorities also suspect the assailant deliberately set a fire inside the building.
The motive for the violence has not yet been determined. Federal agencies, including the FBI and the ATF, have deployed significant resources, with the FBI dedicating over 100 agents, to investigate the incident in the community located just outside Flint.
One church member, Paula, described the terrifying scene to local television, saying she heard a “big bang” as the doors blew, followed by the shooter opening fire on parishioners as they fled.
The Grand Blanc attack contributed to an exceptionally violent weekend across the United States, marking the nation’s 324th mass shooting of 2025.
The incident drew immediate political condemnation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated that violence in a place of worship is “unacceptable.” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the shooting “appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians.”
Alarmingly, the Michigan shooting followed an earlier incident in North Carolina, where police charged another 40-year-old Iraq Marine veteran with murder and attempted murder for firing on a waterfront bar from a boat, killing three and wounding five. Additional fatal mass shootings were also reported in Texas and New Orleans over the same weekend.
