On a Sunday morning that should have been quiet, the small community of Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, was shattered. It was September 28, 2025. People were sitting in pews, probably thinking about lunch or the upcoming week, when a Chevy Silverado slammed through the front doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This wasn't an accident.
The man behind the wheel was Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old from nearby Burton. He didn't just stop at the crash. He stepped out of that truck with an assault rifle and started firing. By the time the smoke cleared—literally, because he set the building on fire with gasoline—four innocent people were dead and eight others were left with injuries they’ll carry forever.
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Who Was Thomas Jacob Sanford?
Honestly, if you looked at his resume on paper, you wouldn't see a mass murderer. Sanford was a Marine veteran. He served from 2004 to 2008, even deploying to Iraq as an automotive mechanic. He held the rank of sergeant. He had medals. He was married and had a son who struggled with a rare health condition.
But his friends say the man who came back from the military wasn't the same "class clown" they grew up with at Goodrich High School.
The Mormon church shooting Michigan suspect had changed. Something shifted when he moved to Utah after his service. He apparently started dating a woman who was a member of the LDS faith, and according to those who knew him, the relationship ended badly. He felt "pressured" to join the church. He hated the idea of changing for them—specifically mentioned not wanting to get rid of his tattoos.
During his time in Utah, things got dark. He reportedly told friends he struggled with a methamphetamine addiction. By the time he moved back to Michigan, he was carrying a heavy, specific grudge against the Mormon faith.
The Motive: A Targeted Act of Hate
The FBI didn't mince words here. Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the Detroit field office, confirmed that this was a "targeted act of violence." It was driven by anti-religious beliefs.
Basically, Sanford spent years vocalizing his hatred. He told a local city council candidate, Kris Johns, just six days before the attack that Mormons were the "antichrist." He thought they believed they were "above Jesus."
- He was calm when he said it.
- He was controlled.
- It wasn't a screaming rant; it was a settled conviction.
His friends heard it too. Bobby Kalush, a childhood friend, remembered Sanford spouting off about the church at a wedding over a decade ago. People didn't take him seriously. They thought it was just "Jake being Jake" or a side effect of his past drug use. Nobody realized he was building a bomb—both metaphorically and literally, as investigators found improvised explosive devices in his truck after the shooting.
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The Timeline of the Grand Blanc Attack
The speed of this tragedy is hard to wrap your head around. It took less than ten minutes for the entire thing to unfold.
At 10:25 a.m., the first 911 call came in. Someone had been shot in the stomach. Within 30 seconds, dispatchers had alerted the police.
When Sanford crashed into the chapel, he didn't just shoot; he brought gasoline. He wanted the building gone. Two of the victims died from gunfire, but two others—John Bond and Thelma Armstrong—were found in the rubble after the fire was put out. They died from the smoke and flames.
The victims who lost their lives were:
- Craig Hayden
- William "Pat" Howard
- John Bond
- Thelma Armstrong
By 10:33 a.m., it was over. Two officers confronted Sanford in the parking lot. There was a brief exchange of gunfire, and Sanford was killed.
The Aftermath and Current State of the Investigation
It’s now early 2026, and the ripples are still felt. The Grand Blanc Stake Center, which served seven different congregations, was basically reduced to a shell.
What’s interesting—and kinda eerie—is that the attack happened exactly one day after the death of the church's president, Russell M. Nelson. Investigators have looked into whether that timing was intentional, though no definitive manifesto has linked the two events yet.
The LDS community responded in a way that surprised a lot of people. During their general conference in Utah shortly after the shooting, leaders preached about forgiveness. Members even raised thousands of dollars for Sanford’s family, recognizing that his wife and son were also victims of his downward spiral.
But the fear hasn't totally gone away. Just recently, in January 2026, another shooting occurred outside an LDS church in Salt Lake City. It makes people wonder if these sites are becoming permanent targets for those with "anti-religious" grievances.
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Lessons and Safety Steps for Communities
If we’re going to take anything away from the tragedy involving the Mormon church shooting Michigan suspect, it’s that radicalization often happens in plain sight.
- Watch for the "Shift": Friends noticed Sanford changed after his time in Utah and his struggle with addiction. If someone you know is obsessing over a specific group or "enemy," it’s worth a conversation or a report.
- Security Protocols: Many churches in Michigan have started locking doors after services begin and posting guards. It’s a sad reality, but physical barriers—like the ones that might have slowed a truck ramming—are being discussed more seriously now.
- Mental Health and Veterans: We have to do better at tracking the transition from military to civilian life, especially when addiction is involved. Sanford was a sergeant with awards; he wasn't a "failure" by military standards, yet he fell through the cracks.
The investigation is technically still open as the FBI processes digital evidence from Sanford's home in Burton. They want to know if anyone helped him or if he was part of any online extremist circles. For now, the town of Grand Blanc is just trying to rebuild a sense of peace that was stolen in eight violent minutes.
Next Steps for Staying Informed:
Monitor the official FBI Detroit field office updates for any newly released digital forensics from Sanford's devices. Additionally, local Michigan news outlets like The Flint Journal continue to follow the recovery of the injured victims and the status of the legal proceedings regarding the IEDs found at the scene.