The smoke hung over Grand Blanc Township for hours. It was a Sunday morning, September 28, 2025, and what should have been a quiet service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned into something out of a nightmare. People were just settling into their pews. Then, a Chevy Silverado smashed through the front doors.
Basically, the peace was shattered in seconds.
The man behind the wheel was Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old from the nearby town of Burton. Honestly, when you look at the details, it feels like a sequence of events that shouldn't happen in a small Michigan suburb. Sanford didn't just crash his truck; he stepped out with an assault rifle and started firing. Then, he set the building on fire.
The Michigan church shooting suspect wasn't some mysterious drifter. He was a local. A veteran. A father.
Who was Thomas Jacob Sanford?
Sanford’s background is a mix of service and struggle. He was a U.S. Marine from 2004 to 2008. He served as a sergeant, an automotive mechanic, and a vehicle recovery operator. He even did a tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He had medals—Good Conduct, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism. On paper, he was a decorated vet.
But life after the military wasn't exactly a straight line.
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Friends say he came back in mental "rough shape." He eventually moved to Utah, looking for a fresh start plowing snow. It was there that things seemingly took a dark turn. While in Utah, he dated a woman who was a member of the LDS faith. According to those who knew him, that relationship ended badly. He felt pressured to join the church, to change his life, to even get rid of his tattoos. He resisted.
By the time he moved back to Michigan, he was carrying a heavy load of resentment. He also struggled with a methamphetamine addiction after his deployment. Life was getting heavy. He had a wife and a 10-year-old son who suffered from a rare genetic disorder called congenital hyperinsulinism. The financial stress was massive.
The Motivation: A "Targeted Act of Violence"
The FBI didn't mince words. They called this a "targeted act of violence" fueled by anti-religious beliefs.
Specifically, Sanford hated the Mormon faith.
Just a week before the attack, a local city council candidate named Kris Johns met Sanford while door-knocking in Burton. They talked for about 15 minutes. Sanford was calm, but he was intense. He told Johns that LDS members were the "antichrist" and that they believed they were "above Jesus." It wasn't about politics. It was about a deep-seated, personal grudge against a specific religious group.
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- The Targets: Worshippers at the Grand Blanc Stake Center.
- The Weapon: An assault rifle.
- The Tactics: Ramming the building, shooting, and using gasoline as an accelerant.
- The Timing: One day after the death of church president Russell M. Nelson.
It's kinda chilling how specific his anger was. He didn't just want to hurt people; he wanted to destroy the building itself. When police finally arrived, the chapel was already engulfed in flames.
Eight Minutes of Chaos
The timeline is surprisingly short for the amount of damage done. The first 911 call came in at 10:25 a.m. By 10:33 a.m., it was over.
When the local police and a Michigan Department of Natural Resources officer arrived, they found Sanford in the parking lot. He wasn't surrendering. There was an exchange of gunfire. Sanford was "neutralized" right there next to his truck, which still had two American flags flying in the back.
Inside the church, the scene was heroic and horrific.
Parents threw themselves over their children. Congregants helped the elderly toward the back exits. Despite the chaos, the quick response from law enforcement likely saved dozens of lives. Still, the toll was heavy: four people died, and eight others were hospitalized. Some died from bullets; others were lost to the smoke and fire that caused the chapel ceiling to collapse.
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What the Investigation Found
When the bomb squad searched Sanford’s truck and his home in Burton, they didn't just find more ammo. They found IEDs.
Three improvised explosive devices were tucked away in his vehicle. It’s unclear if he intended to use them on other targets or if the fire moved too fast for him to deploy them. The FBI sent over 100 agents to the scene to piece together the forensic puzzle. They looked at his phone, his social media, and his military records.
What they found was a man who had been vocalizing his hatred for years. He wasn't a "sleeper agent" or part of a larger cell. He was a lone actor who let a decade-old breakup and personal hardship ferment into a lethal obsession.
Moving Forward and Staying Safe
The community in Grand Blanc is still picking up the pieces. The church was a total loss, but the people are still there. If you’re following this story or live in the area, it's a stark reminder of how quickly "targeted violence" can happen.
If you want to support the victims or stay informed, here are the most effective steps:
- Verified Memorial Funds: Only donate to funds vetted by the Grand Blanc Township Police or the official LDS church website to avoid scams.
- Mental Health Resources: If the news of the Michigan church shooting suspect has triggered anxiety or PTSD—especially for veterans—contact the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1.
- Stay Vigilant: Local authorities still encourage residents to report any suspicious activity around houses of worship, as copycat threats often spike after high-profile incidents.
- Check Official Portals: For updates on the federal prosecution of any potential associates (though Sanford is believed to have acted alone), monitor the FBI Detroit Field Office press releases.
The investigation is technically ongoing as they finish the forensic sweep of the burned-out site, but for the residents of Burton and Grand Blanc, the focus has shifted from the "who" to the "how" of healing.