The horrific shooting and arson at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday marks one in a horrifying list of attacks on churches in 2025.
The violence, coming shortly after a church shooting in Minneapolis and the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, exposes a trend of violence against Americans of faith, particularly Christians.
Last month, the Family Research Council released a list of 383 churches that suffered attacks in 2024.
The Daily Signal has compiled a list of 9 violent attacks against churches in 2025 so far. This list is not exhaustive, and the attackers do not share the same motivations, but the list does illustrate the violent threats that Americans of faith, particularly Christians, have faced this year.
On April 3, a man allegedly entered Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca, Oklahoma, and shot Rev. Arul Carasala, who died at a hospital after the shooting.
The Seneca Police Department arrested Gary Hermesch, 66, who faces first-degree murder charges. Hermesch had reportedly written letters to a newspaper condemning the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
On May 6, a man allegedly set an explosive device on the altar inside St. Theresa of Calcutta Adoration Chapel in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, northeast of Harrisburg.
Kyle Kuczynski, 33, pleaded not guilty to charges of felony arson, reckless burning or exploding, and other charges. Prosecutors said that video from inside the chapel shows Kuczynski running away from the altar 10 or 11 seconds before an explosion.
The chapel reopened last week.
Dominic Lee Wahl-Stephens, 45, reportedly set fire to the doors of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon, on June 11. Wahl-Stephens called 911 to turn himself in for starting the fire, local outlets reported.
Although Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Rick Graves initially used “they/them” pronouns to refer to the suspect, Graves later clarified to The Daily Signal that there is no evidence suggesting Wahl-Stephens identifies as transgender or nonbinary. Graves suggested that the suspect had been mentally unstable.
Wahl-Stephens faces charges of arson in the second degree. The case remains underway as of Monday.
Church security at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, shot dead a would-be assailant on June 22.
Police identified the suspect as Brian Browning, 31. Browning reportedly swerved into the parking lot, got firearms out of the car, and approached the church. Church members locked the door and engaged Browning with gunfire, killing him. While Browning opened fire, he did not injure anyone. A churchgoer told the Detroit Free Press that the church had trained for such a situation and thanked God no one besides the shooter had been killed.
On July 27, a 15-year-old boy allegedly shot and killed another 15-year-old boy at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The suspect will be charged as an adult for first degree murder despite his minor status.
The victim, Alexander Puentes, had been helping with a community outreach event. The suspect began fighting with Puentes and shot him during the altercation.
Brian Oviedo, 32, faces charges for setting fire to approximately 20 buildings in Brooklyn, New York, in the early morning hours of Aug. 20. The buildings include the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew.
On Aug. 27, Robert Westman, 23, opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing two children and injuring 17 before taking his own life. The children were praying at Mass on their first day of school. Westman identified as transgender.
On Sept. 17, police in El Paso, Texas, arrested 35-year-old Marynka Marquez and charged her with arson against a place of worship, specifically Beth El Bible Church.
According to police, Marquez “had gone to the church, placed a large bag against the outside wall of the church, set it on fire, and then fled the scene.”
The pastor had been leaving the church, so he spotted the fire and put it out. El Paso authorities investigated the arson and found a bag with “a paper plate with hateful language inscribed.”
On Sept. 18, the day after the attack, Beth El Bible Church held a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk.
On Sunday, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, drove his truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. Opening fire and setting the church on fire, he killed four people and injured eight others before dying in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement.
Sanford had previously been arrested for burglary and operating while intoxicated. While authorities have identified the attack as “targeted,” they have yet to announce a motive.
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