Federal, state, and local officials held a press conference on Monday afternoon in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, updating the public on the investigation into Sunday’s shooting that targeted worshipers at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation.
Ruben Coleman, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said that investigators are “continuing to work to determine a motive” for what the bureau is calling “an act of targeted violence.” Four people were killed in the attack, and another eight people were wounded.
“Our special agents, victim specialists, child advocates, forensic interviewers and local partners have interviewed over 100 victims and witnesses to date, and are continuing to interview individuals as we speak,” Coleman added.
Coleman’s comments come just hours after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, based on her conversations with FBI Director Kash Patel, the suspected gunman “hated people of the Mormon faith.” Coleman did not address Leavitt’s remarks.
The suspected gunman was identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, who was killed in a shootout with police. The suspect, a Marine and Iraq War veteran, was accused of driving a Chevy Silverado into the church building before stepping out and shooting congregants and setting the structure on fire.
The pickup truck the alleged shooter used in the attack had two American flags displayed in its bed. In a photo uploaded to Facebook in 2019, Sanford was pictured wearing a “Trump 2020” shirt that read, “Make Liberals Cry Again,” NBC News reported.
The victims ranged in age from 6 to 78, according to Dr. Michael Danic, chief of staff at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, where the victims were transported. Five people were treated for gunshot wounds, and three others for smoke inhalation. The child who was injured was stabilized and released, according to Danic.
Sanford allegedly set fire to the building using gasoline as an accelerant, and the blaze quickly engulfed the entire building. Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at Monday’s press conference that authorities have not finished searching the rubble of the burned building, but added that “everyone is accounted for.”
The roads near the church are still blocked off as authorities investigate the attack, and James Deir — the acting special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in Michigan — asked residents to stay out of the area as the investigation continues. The ATF brought in a rapid response team to investigate the fatal shooting and fire. The team has “been used all over the world” and includes forensic chemists and bomb technicians, according to Deir.
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer also spoke at the press conference, urging people to refrain from speculation, which she called “unhelpful” and “downright dangerous.”
“So I just ask that people lower the temperature of rhetoric,” Whitmer added.
The deadly mass shooting at the Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc Township marks the second attack on a place of worship in Michigan in the past three months. In June, an assailant was taken out before he could make it inside CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne. One of the church’s deacons hit the attacker with his Ford F-150, giving the security guard time to shoot him. The security guard was shot in the leg, but no one else was injured.