The quiet of a Sunday morning in Grand Blanc Township was shattered on September 28, 2025, in a way no one ever expects. Not here. Not in a place where people go to find peace. When we talk about Michigan church shooting news, this specific event stands out because of its sheer, calculated brutality. It wasn't just a shooting; it was a multi-pronged assault involving a vehicle-ramming and arson that left a community—and a nation—reeling.
The Morning Everything Changed
It was around 10:25 a.m. Hundreds of worshippers were inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Pollock Road. They were there for Sunday services. Then, the unthinkable. A silver GMC Sierra pickup truck, sporting two American flags in the bed, didn't just pull into the parking lot—it barreled straight through the front doors.
Imagine the sound. The screech of tires, the crashing of glass, the groaning of brick and wood.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old from nearby Burton, stepped out of that wreckage. He wasn't there to talk. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle and wearing camouflage, he began firing into the congregation. Honestly, the chaos that followed is hard to even picture. People were diving under pews, grabbing children, and trying to find any exit that wasn't blocked by fire or lead.
A Timeline of Terror
The response was fast, but for those inside, every second must have felt like an hour.
- 10:25 a.m.: The truck hits the building. The shooting begins.
- 10:25:32 a.m.: The first 911 call hits the dispatch center. A victim reports being shot in the stomach.
- 10:27 a.m.: A Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officer, who happened to be nearby, arrives on the scene.
- 10:33 a.m.: After a brief but intense exchange of gunfire, Sanford is shot and killed by law enforcement in the parking lot.
Eight minutes. That is all it took for the lives of dozens of families to be permanently altered. But the violence didn't stop with the bullets. Sanford had brought gasoline. He used it as an accelerant to set the chapel ablaze. By the time the fire was out, the building—the "Stake Center" for seven local congregations—was a total loss. The towering white steeple, a landmark in the township, was gone.
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Who Were the Victims?
We often get lost in the "how" of these tragedies, but the "who" is what actually matters. Four church members lost their lives that day. They weren't just names in a report; they were the backbone of their community.
Craig Hayden, 74, of Fenton, had been a church leader and was married for 50 years. His daughter, Lisa Louis, shared a chilling detail later: Sanford looked her in the eye while she knelt by her father. For some reason, he didn't pull the trigger on her.
John Bond, 77, of Linden, was a Navy veteran who loved golf and model trains. He left behind a wife, six children, and ten grandchildren.
William "Pat" Howard, 77, of Holly, was another pillar of the community whose family is now trying to figure out how to move forward without him.
Thelma Armstrong, who had moved to Michigan from South Africa, was there with her daughter when she was killed.
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Eight others were injured. Their ages ranged from 6 to 78. Five people were shot, while three others suffered from smoke inhalation as they tried to escape the burning building. It’s a miracle the death toll wasn’t higher, especially considering there were hundreds of people inside.
The Motive: A Targeted Act of Hate
For a while, everyone was asking why. Was it random? Was it mental health? On October 31, 2025, the FBI gave us the answer, and it was grim. They confirmed that this was a "targeted act of violence" fueled by Sanford’s anti-religious beliefs.
Sanford was an Iraq War veteran and a former Marine. People who knew him said he’d been vocal about his hatred for the LDS church for years. Apparently, it started after a bad breakup with a woman who was a member of the faith while he was living in Utah. He let that resentment rot until it turned into something deadly.
There was also a strange, coincidental timing: the attack happened just one day after the death of the church’s global president, Russell M. Nelson. Investigators looked into whether that was the "trigger," though they haven't explicitly linked the two.
What the Community is Doing Now
Grand Blanc isn't a place that wants to be known for a massacre. In the months following the shooting, the focus has shifted toward healing and security. You’ve probably seen more talk about "target hardening" in Michigan houses of worship lately. It’s a sad reality.
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Church leaders across the state are now looking at things like:
- Digital Emergency Preparedness: Using mass communication apps to alert members instantly.
- Bollards and Barriers: Installing physical obstructions to prevent vehicle-ramming attacks like the one Sanford carried out.
- Security Teams: More churches are training "Safety Teams"—often made up of concealed carry permit holders within the congregation—to act as a first line of defense.
Lessons for the Future
If there’s anything to take away from the Michigan church shooting news, it’s that "it can’t happen here" is a dangerous myth. The heroes that day—like the DNR officer who ran toward the gunfire and the medical residents from Henry Ford Genesys who were in the pews and immediately started treating wounds—showed that preparation and courage are the only real defenses we have.
Basically, the community is trying to find a balance. They want to remain "visitors welcome," as the sign in front of the charred church once said, but they also want to make sure no one ever has to dive under a pew for cover again.
Actionable Steps for Houses of Worship
If you belong to a local congregation or work in facility management, there are practical things you should be doing right now.
- Conduct a Risk Assessment: Don't just wing it. Bring in a security professional or your local police department to walk through your building. Identify "soft" entry points.
- Establish a Communication Plan: If an emergency happens, how do you tell the nursery to lock down? A simple "code word" over a PA system or a group text app can save lives.
- Train for Arson/Fire: This shooting proved that fire is a massive threat in active shooter situations. Ensure your exits are never chained or blocked and that your fire suppression systems are tested monthly.
- Community Connection: Sanford was known to have issues. Often, these "lone wolf" attackers drop hints. Encouraging a "see something, say something" culture within the wider community is vital.
The ruins of the Grand Blanc Stake Center have largely been cleared now, but the impact of September 28 lingers. It’s a reminder that while faith can be a sanctuary, it often requires a vigilant guard to keep it that way.