Tragedy in Michigan: Gunman Attacks Church, Sets It on Fire, Leaving Several Dead and Injured

Maronite News - USA - A shocking attack struck the state of Michigan on Sunday, September 28, 2025, when a gunman stormed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township near Flint. According to the Associated Press, the assailant rammed his pickup truck into the building before stepping out and opening fire on congregants.

The horror escalated further when, as Reuters reported, the attacker poured a flammable liquid—believed to be gasoline—inside the church and set it ablaze. The combined violence of the shooting and the fire left at least four people dead and eight others wounded, some critically.

Police intervened within minutes and fatally shot the assailant. Authorities later identified him, through details reported by Le Monde, as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old former U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran.

Investigators also recovered suspicious devices inside the church, which AP described as possible explosives that had not yet been used. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, with federal and local officials now working to piece together Sanford’s background and potential intentions.

This devastating act of violence against a place of worship has left the Michigan community in grief and raised urgent questions about security in religious spaces across the United States.