Michigan church shooting victim Craig Hayden, 72, died trying to save another worshipper: Family

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN: Craig Hayden, 72, lost his life while trying to help another worshipper escape gunfire during a shooting at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, a family member revealed on Tuesday, September 30.

The person accused of the fatal shooting and fire on Sunday, September 28, at the church in Grand Blanc Township was identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, a Marine veteran.

Craig Hayden's daughter-in-law says he 'gave his life for another'

Jennifer Hayden, Craig Hayden’s daughter-in-law, said her father-in-law "was trying to help somebody else and that person lived." 

"So he gave his life for another", she added, without providing further details about the encounter. "The other hero would be his daughter, who talked the gunman down and distracted him."

One of Hayden’s daughters, who survived the shooting, came face to face with the shooter and "stared into his eyes", she said in a handwritten letter that was posted to a family GoFundMe account started to help her mother.

The daughter, who asked for privacy, mentioned in the letter that the shooter came over to her as she knelt next to her father, with her hands still on him.

Moreover, she described that she was so close to the shooter that she could look him in the eyes.

She mentioned that "she stared into his eyes" and that "the only way I can describe it is I saw into his soul."

Hayden was among the four people killed and eight injured in the shooting, which started when Thomas Jacob Sanford drove a vehicle into the church, got out, and opened fire with an assault rifle, according to the police.

Sharp Funeral Homes provided a short obituary for Hayden that read, "Craig Douglas Hayden, born October 13, 1952, age 72, passed away September 28, 2025. Arrangements are being provided by Sharp Funeral Homes, Fenton Chapel, 1000 Silver Lake Rd, Fenton, MI. Tributes may be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com."

City council candidate recalls interaction with Michigan church shooter

A city council candidate, Kris Johns, said that days before allegedly killing four people at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Thomas Sanford espoused anti-Mormon views.

Johns, who is running for a seat on the Burton City Council, was out canvassing door-to-door about a week ago, when he met Sanford, whom police identified as the suspected gunman.

Kris Johns told Fox News that within minutes of meeting, Sanford, 40, asked him, "What are your thoughts on guns?" and "What do you know about Mormons?" 

He added that Sanford then launched into a tirade against the church.

"It was a tirade. I mean, that's ultimately what it was. It was a series of questions, but it was him proactively making a tirade about his views in the LDS Church," Johns told the outlet.

He further added, "It was extremely anti-Mormon. And then really what I walked away with, you know the statement I'll never forget was that Mormons are the anti-Christ."

Moreover, the city council candidate added that he initially didn't make the connection between Sanford's remarks and the attack in the church.

"I was in church at the time that the attack happened. I received the message and I saw that it was an LDS church. I made no connection. From the attack in Grand Blanc to what was him. It wasn't until later in the day where I saw a photo where I knew exactly that was the person I spoke with," Johns shared.