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What we know about the suspect in the deadly Michigan church shooting
The person accused in a fatal shooting and fire Sunday at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township is a 40-year-old area man with a military background.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, is from Burton, a city of nearly 30,000 people roughly 6 miles from Grand Blanc Township. Both are suburbs of Flint.
Officers killed Sanford in a parking lot behind the church, police said.
The FBI’s special agent in charge for the bureau's Detroit field office, Reuben Coleman, said Sunday night that the bureau is looking for a motive.
“The FBI is now leading the investigation and is investigating this as an act of targeted violence,” he said.
FBI asking for tips in church attack
The FBI's Detroit field office is asking the public to submit tips that could help with the agency's investigation.
Tips can be reported to 1-800-CALL-FBI or at tips.fbi.gov.
The FBI is the lead agency on the investigation.
‘Bodies lying on the sidewalk’: Community members recount church attack
Members of the community of Grand Blanc Township recount the attack. The investigation continues.
Where is Grand Blanc Township?
Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, where the shooting took place, is a suburb roughly 7 miles south of Flint.
The 36-square-mile township has a population of around 40,000 people, according to its website. It completely surrounds the city of Grand Blanc, which is less than 4 square miles and has a population of around 8,000, according to the 2020 census.
The township and the city cooperate in providing services to both communities.
Worshippers shielded children during shooting
People inside the church flung themselves into danger's way and shielded children as gunfire erupted this morning, Renye said.
"They were shielding the children who were also present within the church, moving them to safety," he said. "Just hundreds of people just practicing their faith. Just extreme courage."
Renye said law enforcement officers were at the church within 30 seconds of receiving a 911 call. Within eight minutes, the suspected shooter had been "neutralized" in the back parking lot by a Department of Natural Resources officer and a Grand Blanc Township officer, he said.
Search continues for more bodies amid debris of burned-down church
First responders are working around the clock combing through the debris to find additional bodies, Renye said, noting crews are now "in recovery mode."
“We do know that there are some that are unaccounted for,” he said, though he couldn't provide exactly how many. The church is "a total loss due to the fire,” he said.
The suspect used an accelerant, believed to be gasoline, to set the blaze, said James Deir, the special agent in charge of the ATF’s Detroit Field Division.
He said some "suspected explosive devices" were found, but it’s not clear whether they were used to initiate the fire.
Police respond to other bomb threats in the community
Michigan State Police have been responding to additional bomb threats at different locations in the community, an official said at a news conference tonight.
Some of those threats were at churches and were cleared by state police, MSP spokeswoman Lt. Kim Vetter said.
“Please, continue to stay vigilant, and if you see something suspicious, say something," Vetter said.
FBI investigating shooting as 'act of targeted violence'
The FBI is leading the investigation into this morning’s church shooting and is investigating the case “as an act of targeted violence,” said Reuben Coleman, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office.
Number of deaths rises as more bodies found in church
More bodies were discovered in the church, raising the total number of victims killed to four, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at a news conference tonight.
Two of them had gunshot wounds, he said. Including the suspect, there are "five deceased persons from this tragic incident," he said.
Renye also praised the heroism of first responders, who he said were on the scene within 30 seconds of receiving the initial 911 call.
Suspect served in the Marines and was deployed to Iraq
The suspect in the shooting served in the military from June 2004 to June 2008, according to the Marine Corps.
He was an organizational automotive mechanic and vehicle recovery operator and achieved the rank of sergeant, a corps spokesman said. Sanford was deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom from August 2007 to March 2008.
He earned several awards, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, the spokesman said.
His last assignment was in the 2nd Maintenance Battalion of Combat Logistics Regiment 25 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, according to the spokesman.
