The FBI allocated 100 agents to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Grand Blanc Township, Mich. following a shooting on Sept. 28. Four people were killed and eight were injured after a gunman stormed into the building and opened fire. This attack took place at around 10:25 a.m. during a worship service. Following the shooting, the gunman set the church on fire.
“A federal investigator said the fire appeared to have been set with ‘accelerant of some sort’, possibly gasoline, and that three ‘rudimentary’ explosive devices had been found at the scene,” said the New York Times.
The suspect was identified as forty-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, a former Marine. During the attack, police shot Sanford in the church’s rear parking lot, where he was pronounced dead. FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s Detroit field office, Reuben Coleman, said, “The FBI is now leading the investigation and is investigating this as an act of targeted violence.”
There have been a total of 341 mass shootings in 2025, and two occurred in houses of worship. One took place in August, in Minneapolis, Minn., Annunciation Catholic Church, leaving two dead and injuring 18 others, all of whom were children.
“Unfortunately, mass shootings in the U.S. have become so common that society has almost grown numb to the headlines,” said senior Bianca McKellar, a psychology major with a concentration in forensic psychology.
McKeller also said events like these don’t impact her faith or view of God, but more so her view of the world.
McKellar, also a member of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), said, “What impacts me more is when I go to church and find myself thinking, ‘What if someone were to walk in with intent to harm?’ These are not thoughts I want to, or should have, especially in a place that is sanctified and feels like a second home.”
“I think houses of worship get targeted because they’re places people gather together, and for some people filled with hate, that makes them an easy target,” said senior Rebekah Germain, a business management major and CRU general member.
After the direct attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, David Butler, a member of the denomination living in Utah, launched a fundraiser for Sanford’s widow and children. Butler and donors raised more than $250,000, with many identifying as Latter-day Saints.
“The family will face financial hardship and psychological trauma as a result of this week’s horrifying events,” said Butler on the website GiveSendGo.
It is known that Sanford’s son has and continues to deal with serious medical challenges, and Butler felt compelled to start the fundraiser “to create some stability in a time of heartbreak and upheaval,” for Sanford’s family, said Butler.
“It’s heartbreaking, but it also shows how powerful faith really is, if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be under attack,” said Germain.
Investigators continue their search for Sanford’s motives for such an act of violence while the community comes together to rebuild.
