Thomas Jacob Sanford’s father has spoken out after police said his son killed four people and injured eight in a shooting at a Michigan church.
Sanford rammed his truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township Sunday morning and fired at hundreds of worshippers, police said. Sanford, a former Marine who was deployed to Iraq in 2007, also set fire to the building before police killed him in a parking lot behind the church, according to authorities.
“I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they’re under the same crap that I’m going under, that my wife and I are going under,” the suspect’s father, Thomas Sanford, told the Detroit Free Press. “I apologize for that.”
City council candidate Kris Johns in nearby Burton, Michigan, says the suspected gunman described the church’s members as “the antichrist” when they spoke last week, the Detroit Free Press reports. Police have yet to confirm Sanford’s motive.
Hospital officials confirmed Monday that they treated eight victims, ages six to 78. Five people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, while three were treated for smoke inhalation. Two of those treated for smoke inhalation have been discharged.
Michigan church shooting: What we know…so far
- Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, is accused of ramming his pickup truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, Sunday morning and then opening fire at hundreds of worshippers before setting the place on fire.
- Five people died, including Sanford, and eight more were injured in the attack, according to authorities. Police say they killed the suspected shooter in a parking lot behind the church.
- Sanford’s father, Thomas Sanford, told the Detroit Free Press, “I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they’re under the same crap that I’m going under, that my wife and I are going under.”
- City council candidate Kris Johns in nearby Burton, said the suspected shooter described the church’s members as “the antichrist” when they spoke last week, the Detroit Free Press reports.
- A motive for the shooting has yet to be made public.
Michigan AG says Michigan church shooting has ‘all the hallmarks of a hate crime’
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told CNN Monday night the shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday has “all the hallmarks of a hate crime.”
“We’ve done a lot in our state to try to combat this sort of extremism. We have passed a new hate crimes law, a new, institutional desecration law, and we also have extreme risk protection orders, which are red flag laws,” Nessel told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Senator says police need ‘a minute’ to find Michigan church shooter’s motive
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, told CNN Monday night police need “a minute” to find the motive behind Thomas Jacob Sanford, who has been accused of opening fire on worshippers at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday.
When asked how close law enforcement was to determining a motive for the shooting, Slotkin said, “They’re doing their jobs, which takes time. But that’s exploiting equipment from the shooter. That means interviewing a ton of witnesses, but also family members and friends.”
She continued: “We just ask people to let law enforcement do their job. They came to protect us and they’re gonna do that. They just gotta have a minute. “
Man who attacked Michigan church became ‘unhinged’ when talking about Mormon faith
The man who shot up a Michigan church and set a fire that killed four people was a former U.S. Marine who expressed animosity about the Mormon faith to a city council candidate knocking on doors just days before the attack.
Thomas Sanford, who was known as Jake, drove a pickup truck with a deer skull and antlers strapped to the front and two large American flags flapping in the wind in the bed, according to friends and social media posts.
Sanford, 40, smashed that truck into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc Township, according to authorities. He was killed by police officers who rushed to the scene Sunday, 60 miles northwest of Detroit. The building was destroyed.
Kris Johns, a council candidate in Burton, said he met Sanford while introducing himself to voters last week. He told MLive.com that Sanford was pleasant but became “unhinged” when he suddenly began talking about the Mormon church, as it is widely known.
Read more from Ed White:
Watch: Police provide update on Michigan church shooting
People who knew Michigan church shooting suspect said he seemed ‘normal’ and ‘like a nice guy’
People who knew Thomas Jacob Sanford, the man accused of opening fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday, said he seemed “normal” and “like a nice guy.”
“He was happy to see me. He just seemed normal,” Ryan Lopez, Sanford’s former high school classmate who last saw the suspected shooter at a gym a few weeks ago, told The New York Times.
Randy Thronson, Sanford’s neighbor, told the NYT he hadn’t talked to the suspected shooter in roughly two years, but he “seemed like a nice guy.”
“Something must have happened, snapped somehow,” he said.
‘All about his family’: Stunned ice fishing buddies of Michigan church shooter left in disbelief
After Thomas Jacob Sanford rammed his pickup into the front doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, he allegedly aimed an assault-style rifle at the worshippers inside, killing four people and wounding eight others.
A Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Sanford, 40, then set fire to the structure, according to authorities. As terrified parishioners tried to escape the blaze, Sanford was killed at the scene by police.
Retiree Lori Farmer, who lives nearby with husband Ron, told The Independent that she was “shocked” when she heard Sanford identified as the shooter. Farmer and her husband, who worked with Sanford, are “still reeling,” she said.
“He was a good guy,” Farmer said. “All about his family.”
Sanford, who met her husband while driving a truck for Coca-Cola, had gone ice fishing with the couple, and once helped them remove a big spruce tree from their property, according to Farmer. Sanford and his wife, who was part of the LDS church, had a son with special needs; Sanford reportedly had gotten his tattoos removed so he could participate in LDS ceremonies.
Read more from Justin Rohrlich:
Michigan lawmakers send bipartisan message about the shooting: ‘Don’t believe every theory you read on social media’
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, and Republican state Representative Mike Mueller came together to share a message in the wake of Sunday’s shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
“Take a breath. Don’t believe every theory you read on social media,” Slotkin said.
Mueller added, “Wait for the FBI to do their investigation. They’ll find the motive, and let’s heal as a community.”
Michigan governor says ‘everyone deserves the freedom to pray’ after Grand Blanc meeting
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has said “everyone deserves the freedom to pray” after meeting with officials in Grand Blanc Township, following Sunday’s shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Senator says Michigan church ‘burnt down to the bricks’
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat who visited the site of Sunday’s shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, said the Church was “burnt down to the bricks.”
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, is accused of ramming his pickup truck into the front doors of the church and opening dire on worshippers inside before setting fire to the structure.
Police killed Sanford in a parking lot behind the church. At least four people were killed and eight were injured in the attack.
Slotkin said on CNN Monday night, “The church is basically gone…It’s just burnt down to the bricks.”
“The unimaginable terror that went on in that place of worship during a church service, it’s just hard to take in,” the senator added.
