What we covered here
• At least four people were killed and eight others were wounded today in a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, police said.
• Authorities say a gunman rammed a vehicle through the front of the church during a large service, began shooting and then intentionally set a fire that grew into a large blaze. Police believe they may still find victims in the burned-out building.
• Officers exchanged fire with the gunman and killed him, according to police. Investigators have identified the man as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old from the nearby city of Burton.
Our live coverage of the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan has ended for the day. Get the latest here.
Emergency vehicles still pack the road leading to the church
Hours after Sunday’s shooting, the road leading to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, was packed with first responders from various agencies, including police, fire and emergency medical services.
The road was closed to residents, who waited to be taken to their vehicles, which they’d been forced to leave behind. A small vehicle driven by a local police officer was taking families to their cars.
A father holding his 2-year-old daughter told CNN he had just returned a month ago to the church he’s attended all his life. His daughter, who wore her Sunday best – a bright yellow dress – ate snacks and played with a flashlight, unaware of the heartbreak around her.
Just before 10 p.m., nearly 12 hours after the first 911 calls, roughly a dozen Genesee County Sheriff’s Office vehicles towing trailers marked “search and rescue” headed to help clear the chapel, which law enforcement had deemed a total loss.
Up to 7 people unaccounted for as search concludes for the night, source says
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN the search inside the church has concluded for the night with as many as seven people possibly still unaccounted for.
The official cautioned the number could include survivors who have not yet been in touch with their families.
Searchers will resume in the morning when they are once again able to see through the rubble.
During a Sunday evening news conference, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told reporters: “We do know that there are some unaccounted for.”
In pictures: Community reels after Michigan church attack
What we know about today’s deadly shooting at an LDS church in Michigan
At least four people were killed, and several others were wounded after authorities say a 40-year-old man rammed his car into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, this morning before opening fire on worshippers and intentionally setting the building ablaze.
The gunman is dead and the motive remains unknown as federal officials investigate the incident as targeted violence.
Here’s what else we know so far about the shooting and fire:
The victims: At least four people are confirmed dead, with at least two of those deaths being from gunshot wounds, according to police. Officials say eight others were injured, including children, a source familiar with the incident told CNN. Authorities said they believe they will find more victims after they secure the chapel which is now a “total loss.”
The gunman: A 40-year-old man from Burton, Michigan was identified as the shooter, according to Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye. The man used an assault rifle during the attack and was ultimately shot and killed by police, Renye added. Officials believe there is only one person involved. “We believe we have the guy who did this,” he said.
The investigation: The FBI is now leading the case and is investigating the incident as an “act of targeted violence,” according to Reuben Coleman, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Detroit Field Office, which covers the entire state of Michigan. The FBI’s assumption of leadership in the case is notable, as it signals authorities have potentially uncovered violations of federal law.
The fire: Authorities believe the suspect “deliberately” set fire to the church using an accelerant. Some suspected explosive devices linked to the incident were also found, according to James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Detroit Field Division. It’s unclear if any explosives were also used to start the fire, Deir added.
The search continues: A physical search of the perpetrator’s residence is underway and authorities are working to obtain search warrants for digital media that may help shed light on a motive, a law enforcement source told CNN.
The FBI has taken over the Michigan church shooting investigation. What does that mean?
The FBI is now leading the investigation into a deadly shooting and suspected arson at a Michigan church, officials announced at a press conference late this evening.
The bureau is investigating the incident as an “act of targeted violence,” according to Reuben Coleman, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Detroit Field Office, which covers the entire state of Michigan.
While federal investigators routinely offer up investigative and evidence response resources to local officials following mass casualty events, the FBI’s assumption of leadership in the case is notable, as it signals authorities have potentially uncovered violations of federal law.
Federal authorities can assume jurisdiction in cases of suspected terrorism or hate crimes.
A physical search of the suspected shooter’s residence is underway and authorities are working to obtain search warrants for digital media that may help shed light on the perpetrator’s motive, a law enforcement source told CNN.
The “exhaustive” investigation now involves dozens of law enforcement personnel across the state of Michigan, the source said.
Shooting suspect used accelerant before lighting church on fire, ATF official says
The suspect in today’s deadly shooting at a Michigan church used gasoline to set the building on fire afterward, according to James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Detroit Field Division.
Authorities say the gunman rammed a vehicle through the front of the church during a large service, before opening fire on congregants and intentionally setting it on fire.
“I will confirm that there were some suspected explosive devices that were located,” Deir said in a news conference tonight. “But as far as using them to initiate the blaze, we can’t say that.”
Congregants shielded children during shooting, police chief says
Churchgoers shielded children who were at the service and moved them to safety, said Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the heroism of not only the first responders, but the people who were inside that church at the time,” he said. “They were shielding the children who are also present within the church, moving them to safety.”
Several children were among hundreds attending Sunday services when a gunman opened fire on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, according to Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye.
Chapel is a "total loss" as investigators work to uncover bodies
The chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a “total loss,” Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at a Sunday evening news conference.
Investigators are still combing through debris and “working tirelessly to find additional bodies,” he said.
The church website says the meetinghouse is now closed.
FBI is leading the investigation
The FBI is leading the investigation in Sunday morning’s attack, Reuben Coleman, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Detroit Field Office, which covers the entire state of Michigan, said at a Sunday evening news conference.
The bureau is investigating the incident as an “act of targeted violence,” he said.
“This act of violence has no place in our state or anywhere else in our country,” he said. “The FBI is committed to continue finding out the facts, circumstances and motives behind this tragedy.”
Four people killed in attack
A total of four people have been killed in Sunday’s morning attack on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints chapel in Michigan, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at a Monday evening news conference.
Renye had said earlier two people were dead of gunshot wounds. In the evening, he said “a couple additional bodies” were discovered in the chapel, which the suspect allegedly set on fire after the shooting.
Two shootings allegedly perpetrated by Iraq war veterans in less than 24 hours
The Michigan attack marks the second mass shooting in less than 24 hours allegedly perpetrated by Iraq war veterans.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, the 40-year-old who police say drove his car into a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan on Sunday morning and then opened fire, was a Marine veteran who served from 2004 to 2008, a United States Marine Corps spokesperson told CNN.
Sanford served as a mechanic and vehicle recovery operator, the spokesperson said. He was deployed for a year during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the invasion of Iraq that began in 2003.
North Carolina shooting: Just a little over 12 hours before the Michigan shooting, another Marine veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Nigel Edge, allegedly opened fire at a waterfront bar in Southport, North Carolina. Three people were killed and eight were injured. Edge, who spent six years in the Marines and received a Purple Heart, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
Looking back: Notable shooting attacks on US houses of worship
At least two people are dead and eight others are wounded after authorities say a gunman opened fire during Sunday services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan.
Today’s shooting was the latest of many shootings carried out at houses of worship in the United States over the past 10 years. Here’s a list of some of the most notable attacks.
- August 2025: Two children were killed and several others were injured in a mid-Mass shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shooter was a former student at the parish’s school.
- June 2022: A gunman opened fire at a potluck dinner at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, killing three people. The shooter was taken down after another diner struck him with a folding chair and held him until the police arrived.
- October 2018: Eleven Jews attending services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were fatally shot by a white supremacist with a history of antisemitism.
- November 2017: A family feud is believed to have prompted the deadliest mass shooting in modern Texas history. Twenty-five people, including a pregnant woman, were killed at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
- September 2017: A gunman opened fire at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee, killing one person and injuring several others. The shooter, who previously attended the church, was sentenced to life without parole in 2019.
- June 2015: A young man walked into a Bible study session at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina — killing nine people. The shooter, an avowed white supremacist, is awaiting execution following his conviction on multiple federal charges.
What we know about Michigan church attack suspect Thomas Sanford
Thomas Jacob Sanford, the suspect in Sunday morning’s mass shooting at a Michigan church, was an Iraq War veteran and outdoorsman, according to military records and social media posts.
Police say Sanford, 40, of Burton, Michigan, killed two and injured at least eight others while opening fire on congregants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. Sanford, who also allegedly set fire to the church, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities said.
Authorities have provided no motive for the attack.
A Marine Corps spokesperson told CNN that Sanford served as a sergeant and received several medals for his service, which lasted from 2004 to 2008. He was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom for several months starting in the summer of 2007.
Sanford graduated from Goodrich High School in 2004 and was recognized among other veteran alumni, according to an archived page from the school’s website. A local news profile of Sanford from 2007 said he was deployed with the US Marine Corps to Japan before preparing to head for service in Iraq.
Social media accounts linked to Sanford’s family show he was married with at least one child, a young son. According to a GoFundMe page from 2015, the family was in need of donations to help pay for the medical care of Sanford’s son, who was born with a rare genetic disorder.
The newborn was diagnosed with a condition called congenital hyperinsulinism, which required a lengthy hospital stay and several surgeries to remove portions of the pancreas, according to a family Facebook page documenting the difficult journey.
The child’s medical condition took a financial toll on the family, with one local news article reporting Sanford took leave from his work as a truck driver for Coca-Cola to be with his son.
“Don’t ever take having healthy kids for granted,” Sanford is quoted as saying in another article. “We are proud of our child. I spent four years in the Marine Corps and was in Iraq and this is still the most unique thing to deal with.”
Other posts on Sanford’s mother’s Facebook page show that Sanford was a hunter, posing with deer and other game.
"Exhaustive" investigation underway to identify a motive, source says
Authorities investigating 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford — the man who police say carried out today’s deadly attack — are still working to identify a possible motive, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
Investigators are conducting a physical search of his suspected residence, and authorities are also working to obtain search warrants for digital media that may help shed light on his motive, the source said.
The “exhaustive” investigation now involves dozens of law enforcement personnel across the state of Michigan, according to the source.
Although authorities say Sanford was killed in a shootout with police and there will be no prosecution, identifying a possible motive remains a central focus, the source said. Investigators will be working through the night.
In photos: Today's attack on an LDS church in Michigan
The chaos that began today with a gunman ramming his car into a place of worship in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, ended with a huge blaze at the church and embraces between shocked and grieving community members.
These are some of the images that have emerged since the attack on congregants at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
Evidence technicians are now inside the church, law enforcement source says
Evidence technicians are inside the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, and are processing the scene after the large fire following today’s shooting was extinguished, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Authorities are currently working to determine whether additional victims may be inside after this morning’s deadly attack.
Earlier, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said they believe the suspect “deliberately” set fire to the church. The police chief said investigators are “still trying to determine exactly when and where that fire ended up coming from and how it got started.”
He added that police believe more people were “near the fire and they were unable to get out of the church.”
CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this post.
Officers "neutralized" suspect within 10 minutes of initial shooting call, police chief says
It took police less than a minute to respond to this morning’s shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, according to police. Within 10 minutes, the suspected shooter was dead.
“That call came out at 10:25 a.m. and 32 seconds,” Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said in a news conference. “We had officers on scene at 10:25 and 57 seconds.”
The suspect “was neutralized at 10:33,” in the church parking lot, Renye added.
Authorities plan to hold next news conference at 8 p.m. ET
Authorities said they will hold their next news conference at 8 p.m. ET to provide updates on the investigation into the fatal attack at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Two people were killed and multiple were wounded after 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford opened fire on congregants at the church, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye confirmed. Authorities believe Sanford intentionally started a fire at the church as well, he said.
1 victim is in critical condition and 7 are stable, police say
One of the 8 victims injured in Sunday’s attack is in critical condition, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Seven other victims shot in the attack are in stable condition, he said.
Police had previously said a total of 8 people were shot and injured and two were killed. The shooter is also dead.
