(AFP) – At least two people were killed and several others injured Sunday after a shooter targeted a Mormon church in Michigan, authorities said, in the latest deadly tragedy that US President Donald Trump called part of a national “epidemic of violence.”
Police in the northern US state said the shooter first rammed the church with his vehicle before opening fire with an assault rifle, and that he also apparently set the building aflame. The attacker was killed by police in the parking lot eight minutes after the first emergency call came in, Grand Blanc Police Chief William Renye told a brief press conference.
He said that in addition to two deceased victims, one person was in critical condition following the attack and seven other wounded people were in stable condition. AFP journalists in the adjacent town of Burton witnessed a large police presence outside the home of the suspected shooter, whom Renye identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40. Renye did not mention any potential motive and did not answer any questions, but said another press conference would be held later Sunday.
Images of the aftermath at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a suburb of the city of Flint, showed most of the building reduced to ashes. Renye earlier said hundreds were inside when the attack commenced, and that more victims may be found among the debris. Trump called the shooting “horrendous” and said it was “yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.”
Debbie Horkey, who lives near the church, told AFP: “My husband heard people screaming, one lady yelling for help.”
– ‘Epidemic of violence’ –
FBI agents were on the scene to assist the investigation, agency chief Kash Patel said on X. “Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this terrible tragedy,” he wrote. Attorney General Pam Bondi also said she had been briefed on the incident.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Sunday’s attack a “tragic act of violence.” “Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved,” it wrote on X.
The United States, where firearms are readily available, has a long history of gun violence. But tensions have soared in recent weeks after a series of high-profile attacks, including the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah and a deadly shooting at a federal immigration enforcement facility in Texas.
Sunday’s attack also comes a month after a mass shooting at a Catholic church and school in Minnesota, in which two children were killed while attending Mass, and several others were severely wounded. Political divisions have grown even deeper in the wake of the attacks, with Trump launching a campaign to target left-wing groups he accuses of being “domestic terrorists.”
In his Truth Social post Sunday, Trump wrote: “THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”
– Jeff Kowalsky with Ben Turner in Washington.
© 2024 AFP
