Iraq war vet Thomas Sanford identified as shooter in Michigan LDS church attack
GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN: A 40-year-old Iraq War veteran, Thomas Jacob Sanford, has been identified as the gunman who rammed his Chevy Silverado truck into a Latter-day Saints church in Michigan on September 28.
He then opened fire on worshippers attending the Sunday service, killing at least four people and wounding eight others. Sanford also set the building on fire, which burned to the ground.
Police shot and killed him just minutes after the first 911 call came in. Authorities are now investigating the scene to determine whether more victims remain in the rubble.
Who was the Michigan church shooter?
According to a Facebook post by Sanford’s mother, the gunman, who died in a shootout with police at the scene, served in Iraq between 2004 and 2008.
Social media profiles believed to belong to Sanford portray him as a family man, married with a young son.
In 2015, a dormant GoFundMe page raised over $3,000 for the Sanfords’ son, who is now 10 years old and was born with congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), a rare genetic disorder that causes the pancreas to produce excess insulin. Photos from the family's Facebook page show them smiling together, posing in pickup trucks, and standing among tall sunflowers.
The truck Sanford used to crash into the church displayed two large American flags behind the cab and had a set of deer antlers attached to the bumper. Authorities later identified Sanford, a resident of Burton, Michigan, as the sole suspect in the attack.
A Department of Natural Resources officer and a local township police officer responded to the scene within about 30 seconds, officials said.
Sources confirmed that investigators discovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on church property, prompting a bomb squad investigation. Authorities also searched Sanford’s home for additional explosives.
At the time of the attack, hundreds of worshippers were inside the church. Aerial footage captured thick black smoke billowing from the burning building.
What did eyewitnesses report about Michigan church shooting?
According to an unnamed witness who spoke to Fox 2 Detroit, the attack began shortly after the congregational hymn during the 10 a.m. service, when the church was filled with hundreds of worshippers. Churchgoers heard a loud crash as the suspect drove his truck into the building.
“We at first thought someone had accidentally crashed into the church, so we went out to help him,” the witness said.
Paul Kirby, 38, who also rushed outside thinking it was an accident, told The New York Times he saw the driver exit the truck from about 10 to 20 yards away before realizing what was happening. “He started shooting at me,” Kirby said, adding that a bullet shattered a nearby glass door and sent shrapnel into his leg.
Kirby quickly ran back into the church to find his wife and two sons, then helped evacuate others through the back, loading as many people as possible into his vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Tony Deck, a Grand Blanc resident, told USA Today that after hearing sirens, he drove past the church and saw “at least four yellow canvases covering bodies.”
What could be the cause of massive church attack by Iraq War vet Thomas Sanford?
Aerial footage later revealed the church was fully engulfed in flames, with the fire believed to have started during the attack.
Although the exact cause of the blaze remains under investigation, detectives are examining a possible link between the mass shooting, the arson, and the death of longtime LDS Church President Russell M Nelson, who died the day before the attack in Salt Lake City at age 101, according to a source briefed on the investigation.
