Grand Blanc Township Mormon church shooting leaves 2 dead, 8 wounded

Chris Nesi and Ariel Zilber
New York Post
Sun, 28 Sep 2025 21:59 UTC

© Associated Pres

Massive flames and smoke rise from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Utah after a shooter set the building on fire,
September 28, 2025

Many more feared killed after gunman opens fire, burns down building

At least two people are dead and eight others were wounded, including children, in a mass shooting at a Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan — and many more are feared dead inside after the killer set the house of worship ablaze, police said Sunday.

The full death toll is still unknown, but hundreds of worshippers were inside the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the shooting, and horrifying pictures showed the entire structure engulfed in a raging inferno. Sources told The Post multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found at the scene and a bomb squad is investigating.

"We do believe there were people up there that were near that fire, and they were unable to get out of the church. So we do believe that we will have additional victims once we're able to search that," Grand Blanc Police Chief William Renye told reporters at a press conference.

The silver GMC vehicle belonged to 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, an Iraq War veteran from Burton, Mich. was used to ram a church in Grand Blanc, Utah September 28, 2025

The gunman, whom sources identified to The Post as 40-year-old Tomas Jacob Sanford, rammed his truck — which had two large American flags in the bed — through the front doors of the church about 10:25 a.m. and then opened fire with an assault rifle on members of the congregation who came to help him.

He also set the building on fire, and aerial footage showed the large building fully cloaked in flames. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Sanford later died in a gun battle with a Grand Blanc Township police officer and a Department of Natural Resources officer who responded to the shooting, Reyne said. Cops were on the scene 30 seconds after calls started coming in, and took out the suspect in less than five minutes, Reyne added.

An unnamed witness told Fox 2 Detroit that the attack started around 10 a.m., just after the congregational hymn, when hundreds of people were inside the building.

Churchgoers reportedly heard a loud bang as the attacker crashed his truck into the church.

"We at first thought someone had accidentally crashed into the church, so we went out to help him," the man told the local TV station.

Paul Kirby, 38, who also ran outside to render assistance believing it to be an accident, told the New York Times he saw the man getting out of the truck from about 10-20 yards away before he realized what was happening.

"He started shooting at me," Kirby said, saying a bullet whizzed through a nearby glass door, clipping his leg with a piece of shrapnel.

He then rushed inside the church to find his wife and two sons before they fled through the back of the church and loaded as many people into their car as they could before speeding away.

"It was the scaredest I've ever been," he told the outlet.

Grand Blanc resident Tony Deck told USA Today that he drove by the church after hearing sirens and saw "at least four yellow canvases over dead bodies."

Dramatic aerial footage circulating online showed flames ripping through the church and thick black plumes of smoke rising high in the air over the leafy green Flint suburb.

Authorities directed people on site to a reunification pavilion to the north and said offsite reunification is at the Trillium theater at Holly and McCandlish.

© Fox 2

September 28, 2025: Grand Blanc Township Police Department said there is "NO threat to the public at this time" and that "the church is actively on fire."

Residents were urged: "PLEASE AVOID THE AREA!!" Reyne said at a follow-up press conference that of the eight wounded in the attack, seven are stable and one is in critical condition.

The Post has sought comment from local and federal law enforcement officials.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he had been briefed on the "horrendous" shooting.

"The suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America. The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!"

US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted that she is "receiving briefings" and that "FBI and ATF agents are en route to the scene now."

She added, "Such violence at a place of worship is heartbreaking and chilling."

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X the bureau is "tracking reports of the horrific shooting and fire at an LDS church," and that agents are on the scene to assist local authorities.

"Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this terrible tragedy," he wrote.

"Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this terrible tragedy," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X. Facebook/Grand Blanc Residents Uncensored

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement extending her sympathy to the community and condemning the heinous act of violence.

"My heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community. Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly. We will continue to monitor the situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc close," she wrote.

Anna Matson, a podcaster, posted a video on X showing her at the scene of the shooting. According to Matson, witnesses said an unidentified individual drove a vehicle into the church and started shooting.

One of the victims was a young girl who was shot in the back, according to Matson.

Matson reported that she spoke to someone from South America who recently arrived in the United States and attended a church service on Sunday with his mother.

According to Matson, the person managed to get out of the burning church but his mother remained in the building after the fire started.

"A tragic act of violence occurred today at a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan," the church wrote in a statement Sunday afternoon.

"During Sunday worship services a gunman opened fire, and early reports indicate that multiple individuals were injured. We ask for cooperation with local authorities as details become available."

Not motive has been given for the attack. The gunman is an Iraq war vet, who according to social media, had a wife and a young son.

Detectives are also probing whether the mass shooting and fire has any connection to the death of longtime national LDS church president Russel M. Nelson, who died Saturday in Salt Lake City at age 101, according to a source briefed on the investigation who spoke to ABC News.