A quiet Sunday service at a Michigan Mormon chapel was violently disrupted when a Marine veteran stormed the building, killing four and injuring eight more, authorities confirmed.
Marine veteran attacks Michigan church
The mass shooting took place at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
Officials identified the assailant as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, who allegedly drove his vehicle into the chapel before unleashing gunfire with an assault rifle and setting parts of the building ablaze.
Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said officers confronted Sanford within minutes of the first 911 call.
He was shot and killed by police in the chapel’s parking lot just eight minutes after the initial alert.
Federal investigators quickly joined the case. ATF officials believe Sanford used gasoline to accelerate the fire.
FBI special agent in charge Reuben Coleman described the event as targeted violence.
He explained that agents are chasing down numerous leads, many provided by the public.
Coleman confirmed that more than 100 witnesses and victims have already been interviewed, with investigators still working to determine Sanford’s motive.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing on “FOX & Friends,” pointed to Sanford’s alleged hostility toward the Mormon community.
NEW: @PressSec on the FBI’s current understanding of the motive in the deadly Michigan church shooting:
"This was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith, and they are trying to understand more about this." | @foxandfriends pic.twitter.com/kQmB1DB6FA
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 29, 2025
“From what I understand, based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” she said.
“And they are trying to understand more about this, how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note. All of those questions have yet to be answered but certainly will be answered.”
Suspect allegedly was prejudiced against Mormons
Local residents also recalled disturbing interactions with the suspect. Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns told reporters that he encountered Sanford while campaigning and was caught off guard by an anti-Mormon rant.
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Johns said Sanford was “extremely friendly” at first but soon shifted into harsh criticism of the faith, spouting “anti-LDS talking points” often found on social media. Sanford allegedly he even called Mormons “the antichrist.”
“There’s certain things you don’t forget. This is not a forgettable guy,” Johns told the Free Press.
After recognizing Sanford from images of police surrounding a Burton home, Johns reached out to authorities and cooperated with both state police and the FBI.
Officials confirmed that two of the victims died from gunshot wounds, while two others succumbed to smoke inhalation.
The victims ranged in age from young children to seniors. Michael Danic, chief of staff at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, said eight people were treated, including a 6-year-old child.
Five victims had gunshot injuries, one of whom died in the emergency room, while two remained in critical condition Monday.
The other three suffered from smoke inhalation, and two of them were later discharged. While authorities were initially searching the church for missing people that may have died in the fire, all potential victims are now all accounted for, and there have been no additional deaths.
The incident in Michigan wasn’t the only mass shooting by a Marine veteran this weekend.
Marine veteran attacks North Carolina restaurant
In North Carolina, another 40-year-old man, identified as Nigel Edge of Oak Island, is accused of carrying out what police described as a “highly premeditated” shooting late Saturday night at the American Fish Company in Southport.
Authorities said Edge, a combat veteran, piloted a small boat close to shore lined with bars and restaurants, opened fire with an assault rifle into the crowd, and then sped away. The rampage left three dead and five injured.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said Edge was arrested after the U.S. Coast Guard spotted him pulling his boat from the water.
He faces three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Coring added that Edge “self-identifies” as a Marine veteran with PTSD.
“Injured in the line of duty is what he’s saying, he suffers from PTSD,” Coring said.
At least one victim from the Southport attack is reportedly fighting for their life. Some of the wounded were vacationers from out of town.
Edge’s history includes a trail of bizarre lawsuits. In May, he accused a local church of conspiring with the LGBTQ community and white supremacist pedophiles to kill him because he was a “straight man.” The filing, like others he made earlier in the year, was dismissed.
He also brought a suit against Brunswick Medical Center and even country singer Kellie Pickler, whom he once accompanied to the 2012 CMT Music Awards.
In that case, he claimed the singer tried to poison him with whiskey during the show. The lawsuit remains open.
