The former Marine who police say attacked and burned a central Michigan house of worship, killing four, had ranted against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a week before his deadly assault, a local politician told the Detroit Free Press.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, went on a tirade against the church and called Mormons “the Antichrist,” Kris Johns, a candidate for the local Burton City Council, told the newspaper, part of the USA Today Network. Johns was canvassing when he knocked on Sanford’s door and spoke with the ex-Marine days before the rampage in Grand Blanc Township.
“It was very much standard anti-LDS talking points that you would find on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook,” said Johns, adding that he has spoken with local police and the FBI about his encounter with Sanford.
Officials said Sanford rammed a GMC pickup truck bearing two American flags into the church on Sunday, Sept. 28, opened fire on hundreds of worshippers and used gasoline to set the building ablaze. He was killed in a gunfight with police.
Two people were fatally shot in the attack, and the bodies of two others were found hours later amid blackened debris of the destroyed building. Of those injured in the shooting, one person was in critical condition and seven were listed as stable, authorities said.
Investigators recovered improvised explosive devices after the attack, said James Deir, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Detroit field office. Deir did not say where the devices were recovered.
Officials at a Sept. 29 news conference, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and federal, state and local law enforcement, did not provide any information about a possible motive or address Sanford’s reported comments.
In the tense aftermath of the shooting, officials also arrested a 21-year-old who allegedly tried to drive through the police barricade blocking the church on Monday.
The attack was the latest to break out at a place of worship in recent years. Last month, a gunman opened fire at a Catholic church in Minnesota where hundreds of young students were attending Mass, killing two children and wounding at least 17 people. In the wake of Sunday’s shooting, President Donald Trump called for an end to what he described as an “epidemic of violence in our country.”
Father of suspect apologizes for deadly church attack
Thomas Sanford spoke to the Detroit Free Press in a brief phone interview Monday Sept. 29 and apologized to the families of the people killed and wounded in Grand Blanc Township.
Investigators say that his son, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, rammed his pickup truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, then climbed out and began firing an assault rifle at congregants. They also believe he set a fire that destroyed the church.
“I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they’re under the same crap that I’m going under, that my wife and I are going under,” the elder Sanford said, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. “I apologize for that.”