Below the piercing spires above every Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel rests a sign that welcomes visitors inside – a testament to the faith’s evangelizing efforts to provide a community for all.
But on Sunday, Sept. 28, a gunman took advantage of the open arms, plowing his truck into an LDS church in Grand Blanc Township, shooting worshippers with an assault weapon and setting the chapel on fire as an escape.
The fire in question killed at least four people, with eight others wounded. Up to seven people could be unaccounted, as search crews still navigate a search in the charred debris.
Thomas Jacob Sandford, the suspect, was an Iraq War veteran, according to military records and social media posts. Sandford, 40, died during an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities told CNN and AP News. He has no known previous criminal record and authorities have not provided a motive for the attack.
It had been what the denomination calls a “fast Sunday,” when members are encouraged once a month to forgo two meals and donate the food, or money they would have spent on the food, to those in need.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. as worshippers finished the Sacrament – the first half of the two hour service – when Sandford drove his truck through the front doors.
After a 911 call was placed, officers arrived at the church within a short 30 second window. Sandford then fled the scene, leading two officers away and in pursuit of him.
On the church’s website, LDS officials issued a statement to the media that evening. “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and concern from so many people around the world,” Doug Anderson, Church Spokesperson, wrote. “Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved.”
Just over a month ago on Aug. 27, Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota was fired into by a former student at Annunciation’s school branch. Two children ages 8 and 10 were killed, along with several more minors injured. Robin Westman, 23, shot more than 100 rifles rounds through the church window before dying by suicide. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told journalists at the time that investigators were not sure what motivated the attack on what was supposed to be “a holy space for all.”
The attacks in Grand Blanc and Minneapolis are not the first attacks on a place of worship in the Midwest. In 2012, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist and Army veteran, opened fire into a gurdwara (or Sikh temple) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others before dying by suicide.
