Who Was Thomas Jacob Sanford? What We Know About Suspected Michigan Mormon Church Shooter

A Michigan man accused of opening fire on more than 100 worshippers at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before lighting the building on fire was a former Marine.

Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, lived about six miles away from the Grand Blanc Township church where four people were killed and eight others were injured in the Sunday, Sept. 28 attack.

Sanford was later killed in a gunfight with police.

Authorities are still working to determine a motive, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Monday that Sanford was “an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” CNN reported.

“The FBI is now leading the investigation and is investigating this as an act of targeted violence,” FBI special agent in charge Reuben Coleman confirmed following the attack, per NBC News.

Police allege that around 10:25 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, Sanford crashed into the church with two American flags mounted on the bed of his silver pickup truck, stepped out of the vehicle and then opened fire on parishioners inside the church with an assault rifle, per KUTV.

During the attack, Sanford is also suspected of using gasoline to start the blaze, per officials, according to the outlet.

Parishioner Brian Taylor told FOX 2 that “None of us recognized this guy,” he said. “He came [inside] in camo pants and [with] an assault rifle.” 

Sanford joined the Marine Corps in 2004, one year after graduating high school, according to the Clarkston News. In 2007, he was deployed to Iraq.

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“I’m excited to go,” Sanford told the Clarkston News at the time. “I’m looking forward to seeing the culture and the people of Iraq. I’ll return with the real news of the situation. There are many changes we are making in the Middle East. We are making progress. The citizens of Iraq are beginning to step up.”

According to a Marines spokesman, Sanford was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from August 2007 to March 2008. During his time with the Marines, he worked as an organizational automotive mechanic and a vehicle recovery operator.

He left the Marines in 2008 as a sergeant.

His last duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune, N.C., per the spokesperson.

Sanford was awarded multiple medals including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, the spokesperson said.

Per CNN, at the time of the attack, Sanford was married with a 10-year-old son who was reportedly born in 2015 with a rare genetic disorder.

According to the outlet, citing a since-deleted family Facebook page, the baby was diagnosed with a condition called Congenital Hyperinsulinism, which required a long-term hospital stay and multiple surgeries to remove portions of the pancreas.

A GoFundMe page was created seeking donations to help pay for the medical care of Sanford’s son.