1 person dead and 9 injured in shooting at Michigan church, police say
https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-shooting-michigan-dcb79ee701b0b8076bf73e30e10ba2b7
https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-shooting-michigan-dcb79ee701b0b8076bf73e30e10ba2b7
115 Comments
renrenPDX@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 144 pts · 345d
A GMC truck complete with two American flag poles on the back. Classic.
tootoughtoremember@lemmy.world · 104 pts · 345d
Classic leftist antifa. Better round up every trans person, just in case.
merdaverse@lemmy.zip · 36 pts · 345d
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 101 pts · 344d
TangledHyphae@lemmy.world · -131 pts · 344d
I really wonder if leftists really are this brainwashed to parrot such an obviously incorrect narrative. The answer is "yes, they are this brainwashed."
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 61 pts · 344d
He has a Trump Vance sign on his fence. Right wing extremism is a real serious problem https://scallywagandvagabond.com/2025/09/thomas-tom-jacob-sanford-michigan-lds-church-shooter-decorated-war-veteran-trump-supporter/
Furbag@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 344d
I saw the twin full size American flags on the back of the truck and I instantly pegged him as a MAGA nutter.
It's really not hard to spot this particular brand of mental illness.
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 344d
Narcissistic rage
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 344d
The reports I read said the shooter had trump signs at his house. He’s maga for sure https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/thomas-jacob-sanford-trump-supporter-michigan-grand-blanc-church-shooters-political-affiliation-democrat-or-republican-101759091935370.html
reddifuge@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 344d
Do you really think a MAGA't wank stain is going to trust a paper with Hindu in the name?
Lol
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 344d
He has a Trump/vance sign on his fence https://scallywagandvagabond.com/2025/09/thomas-tom-jacob-sanford-michigan-lds-church-shooter-decorated-war-veteran-trump-supporter/
reddifuge@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 344d
No way, mass shooters are never on the far right!
beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 0 pts · 344d
The Hindustan Times probably isn't a trustworthy source. Especially in this political climate, I'd recommend not believing anything you haven't seen from multiple sources.
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 344d
MSN reports he has Trump/pence shirt in photo and trump/vance sign
beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 344d
Fair. Also here is that MSN article.
queueBenSis@sh.itjust.works · 35 pts · 344d
your comment is extra funny when maga folks listen to fox religiously, which is literally a propaganda outlet for trump.
oascany@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 344d
What leftists are shooting right wingers you fucking moron open your goddamn eyes fuck
Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 344d
Except literally the meme plays out every single time.
buttnugget@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 344d
Ok genuinely trying to understand what you’re saying here. You say “narrative” but that implies that someone is writing a story. Can you please be specific?
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 343d
Bro, the shooter's truck has two American flags, and his house has a Trump/Vance campaign sign.
You can't sidestep this one. Sorry. MAGA dealt this one, not leftists
And actually, MOST homicides and mass shootings in the US are caused by right wing nutjobs. Don't listen to Fox News' propaganda
SparroHawc@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 343d
Someone hasn't been paying attention to where a vast majority of political violence comes from.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 343d
Learn how to read yet?
Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 72 pts · 345d
Rump keeps pointing fingers at "radical extreme left antifé..." and every week another one of his followers does a mass murder.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 345d
As planned.
Whoops! Ha ha. I meant totally . . random chance!
gnutrino@programming.dev · 17 pts · 345d
You might even call it... stochastic.
aislopmukbang@sh.itjust.works · 69 pts · 345d
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 38 pts · 345d
aeronmelon@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 345d
Before Columbine.
Signtist@bookwyr.me · 30 pts · 345d
The fact that when you say "Columbine" we immediately know you're talking about the shooting at Columbine means that it was noteworthy enough to not be a regular occurrence then. Same with Sandy Hook. Nowadays we don't even question why anymore, and few people would recognize the Evergreen school shooting that happened a couple weeks ago from the name of the school alone.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 345d
If I told you that life insurance costs more for people who live near schools and you have to question if that is real, that tells you the number of shootings at schools is to damn high
CannonFodder@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 345d
Don't forget about the Bowling Green massacre.
Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 344d
You unlocked a repressed memory. Thanks for that.
xylol@leminal.space · 3 pts · 345d
Theres several schools named evergreen in my area though so it makes it tough
grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org · 4 pts · 344d
The first shooting I remember was the Heath High School shooting in 1997. Things haven't been ok for a long time
commander@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 344d
I don't remember the last time I've seen the Las Vegas massacre sometime in the last 10 years was mentioned. A huge amount of people died then and I don't think many people remember it at all
WindyRebel@lemmy.world · 54 pts · 345d
Admittedly did not read the article yet. This is my prediction:
Willing to put money on this being a conservative that is getting revenge on Mormons because of the Kirk killing being in Utah.
Grimy@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 345d
Tyler Robinson was raised Mormon so this might very well be the reason.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 20 pts · 345d
Hey, let's maybe wait a bit before even reading anything this time. AP itself is quite trustworthy IMO, but the sources themselves often aren't - AP reports what it finds out, but they get their data from police, FBI, etc - not a single link in the chain is infallible, which is why it's best to wait till a bit more is known.
With the Kirk shooter, first he was trans, then he was a groyper, and then later on it turned out he has a trans girlfriend and he was sick of the hate Kirk was spewing. Hell, maybe even THAT isn't the final version. The first one was super comfy for conservatives to believe, the second version was super comfy for the left to believe, and the final version... Honestly again, sounds a bit too convenient. So we'll see.
IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 345d
So it's the left fault!?!??
/s
WindyRebel@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 345d
In their mind? Yeah? Probably. 🙄
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 344d
My guess is the dude had some kind of a massive crash out after an argument with his wife.
I come from white trash.
I know how this tends to work.
That being said: total guess, in the sense that I do not have any actual evidence to back up or corroborate this idea.
I will though note that it is odd that... well, with Kirk's shooter, we hear all about and from family members and roommates/partners, anyone related to the person... because everyone wants this info so as to attempt to create a narrative/motive, whether trying to do this objectively or in an obviously biased way.
This guy?
Maybe I've missed it but I've not seen or heard a single mention of any LE contacting his family or media outlets getting any statements from amybody he knew.
But this also has not stopped a good chunk of right wing people from doing the most pathetically transparent motivated reasoning I've seen in a while.
Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 344d
Honestly, I hope they all just take each other out
tanisnikana@lemmy.world · 51 pts · 345d
How will they ever discover this pathetic man was trans?
magic_lobster_party@fedia.io · 46 pts · 345d
Not needed. They just have to say he was influenced by ” radical trans antifa ideology”
pleaseletmein@lemmy.zip · 23 pts · 345d
His brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s barber once liked a photo of a trans person’s cat on instagram. Case. Fucking. Closed.
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 344d
I shit you not, they're saying he was against trump because he had his trump/pence sign hanging on his fence visible in proximity to a stop sign.
Also, some people have pointed out that a "T Sanford" is a donor to the "BLUE ORIGIN LLC PAC", which is obviously a democratic PAC, and not the lobbying group for the private space flight company Blue Origin LLC, who coincidentally has a Tommy Sanford as their sales director. Because people never have the same name.
SiegeRhino@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 345d
I wonder what color of crayon he used to write "i <3 antifa" on his bullet casings
Blackmist@feddit.uk · 48 pts · 345d
Let me guess, he's got The Internationale inscribed on every bullet.
BananaOnionJuice@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 40 pts · 345d
It's a mix of The Internationale, The Communist Manifesto and for some unknown reason The Rocky Horror Picture Show's script.
Derpenheim@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 345d
Its amazing, they got the whole damn thing on there!
6stringringer@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 345d
Chip_Rat@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 345d
Dmnitjnt
oddlyqueer@lemmy.ml · 21 pts · 344d
Haters will say it's fake:
Schmoo@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 343d
Don't show this to Trump, he'll insist that it's real.
SGforce@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 344d
If this guy has a Mauser the conspiracists heads will explode.
smeg@infosec.pub · 12 pts · 345d
With sharpie
mean_bean279@lemmy.world · 33 pts · 345d
I know a lot of good Mormon people/friends and the ones I’m around are such wonderful people. My heart hurts for them and my thoughts are with their community during this time. How sad.
Someone reported they were in the building right after the first call and mentioned there were 4 canvasses covering people and the cops said it would grow. So I suspect this is an early count before they get to the burned section.
The_v@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 345d
Mormons generally come in two flavors: wonderful people taken advantage of by a cult and absolute scum who utilize the cult to abuse others. So here's hoping the shooter got some of the abusers.
The more likely target is of course kids because of Sunday School.
gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 345d
Nervous reporter calls wrong number by mistake, feels obliged to put comment in story anyway, more at 11
plz1@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 345d
Damn it, Tylenol!
kandoh@reddthat.com · 28 pts · 344d
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, was identified as the shooter responsible for a mass shooting at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Sanford drove his pickup truck into the church, exited the vehicle, and opened fire with an assault rifle on congregants during a service. He also deliberately set fire to the church building. The shooting resulted in the deaths of at least two people, with several others injured. Sanford was killed by law enforcement officers in a shootout at the scene.
Sanford was a US Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008 and lived in Burton, Michigan. His vehicle was reportedly decorated with two large American flags, and social media posts suggest a possible Trump support sign at his residence, though these affiliations have not been officially confirmed by authorities. The motive for the attack remains under investigation, with searches conducted at his home and examination of his cellphone records. There were also reports of improvised explosive devices found near the church. The incident shocked the community, especially as it occurred shortly after the death of Russell M. Nelson, the longtime president of the church [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].
Citations: [1] Thomas Sanford a Trump supporter? Big claim on ... https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/thomas-jacob-sanford-trump-supporter-michigan-grand-blanc-church-shooters-political-affiliation-democrat-or-republican-101759091935370.html [2] Who is Thomas Sanford? Michigan Mormon church ... https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/who-is-thomas-sanford-michigan-grand-blanc-mormon-church-shooting-suspect-identified-as-iraq-war-veteran-101759088332418.html [3] Iraq War veteran Thomas Sanford ID'd as gunman who ... https://nypost.com/2025/09/28/us-news/iraq-war-veteran-thomas-sanford-idd-as-gunman-who-attacked-grand-blanc-lds-church-killing-2-and-setting-it-ablaze/ [4] Police identify suspect in mass shooting at Grand Blanc ... https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2025/09/28/police-identify-suspect-in-mass-shooting-at-grand-blanc-township-church/ [5] Grand Blanc church shooting: What's known about ... https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-grand-blanc-church-shooting-suspect [6] Live updates: Church attack kills 2, injures 8; suspect ... https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/michigan-church-shooting-live-updates-rcna234221 [7] Photos emerge of truck decked out in American flags that ... https://nypost.com/2025/09/28/us-news/photos-emerge-of-truck-decked-out-in-american-flags-that-gunman-crashed-into-mormon-church-before-shooting/ [8] Live updates: Church shooting and fire in Grand Blanc ... https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/church-shooting-fire-michigan-09-28-25 [9] Two killed and eight injured as suspect named in Michigan ... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c62l7x0v5e5t [10] Suspect Identified in Shooting at Mormon Church in Michigan https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breaking-suspect-identified-shooting-mormon-204305951.html
beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 344d
You probably shouldn't trust the Hindustan Times, they are not a credible news source
HugeNerd@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 344d
That's not what your link says, it says mixed, and if you want to talk about bias, why didn't you also do the same check for all the other sources? Example: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/new-york-post/ Much worse and the factual score is lower.
beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 344d
The link I provided says the Hindustan Times has low credibility and their factual reporting is mixed. The post has medium credibility and mixed factual reporting.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't check the others because they were all from more mainstream sources. Especially with breaking news, like this story was yesterday, we should all be giving unfamiliar sources extra scrutiny.
If it makes you feel better though I'll do the rest of them:
HugeNerd@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 344d
Yes but did you read them? The HT doesn't fare as bad as the others. Which leads me to believe you singled out the HT because of their brownness or perhaps non-Jeebusness.
"To be perfectly honest, I didn’t check the others because they were all from more mainstream sources. "
Which are all bullshit in many ways...
beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 344d
I singled them out because it was an obscure source and misinformation is rife on the Internet. If you believe I might be secretly a bigot, you are welcome to check my post history, but I promise you, I am not.
100% agree. Not a single source on that list, except maybe the bbc would I trust as a single source, and only then if it were about non-political international stories.
jve@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 344d
Thank goodness it wasn’t a terrorist attack!
SchadeMarmelade@feddit.org · 14 pts · 344d
The guy hat USA flags on his truck. How could he be a terrorist!?
myotheraccount@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 344d
So a Freedom Attack then
aceshigh@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 344d
Maga on maga violence is trending in 2025.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 24 pts · 345d
Oh, is that so?
Huh.
So I guess it is acceptable, sometimes.
Bonesince1997@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 345d
Thou shalt not kill*
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 345d
Don't make me ask Petah for the chart.
EDIT:
Alternatively; "Thou shalt always kill."
ricecake@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 344d
Man, it's crazy how not using the word genocide in April of 2024, not saying it wasn't a genocide but simply not saying it was while also calling it terrible, is both clearly communicating that she supports killing Palestinians and also super timely and extremely relevant to an attack a year and a half later.
shawn1122@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 344d
Western liberals have always been like this.
Western society is predicated on some people being more human than others (but, but my enlightenment values. ha)
Christian institutions tied themselves into knots to morally justify the horrors of the colonial era and Atlantic slave trade. The conclusion they reached is some people are just more peopley than others. These people being Christians.
Western attitudes towards human rights, egalitarianism etc are a direct extension of this era. Patting themselves on the back on being the chosen people and treating their own well while treating others like they're the scum of the Earth.
Treczoks@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 344d
And again, to the disappointment of the MAGA heads, it is one of theirs, not a leftie.
drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 344d
And he was shooting their own too.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 344d
Mormons have to realize maga evangelicals don't see them as christians and they're like #6 on MAGA's murder lists of targets.
FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 344d
I’ve tried to convince my relatives of this but they will Ernst Röhm themselves right up until the last second because it owns the libs
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 10 pts · 344d
Thoughts and, ehem, prayers
titanicx@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 344d
Oh hell, I wonder if the guy that did this did it because the guy that helped Kirk achieve his objective was Mormon.
peoplebeproblems@midwest.social · 8 pts · 345d
Wait wait wait wait. Mormons?
So it's just another example of the biggest threat to conservatives is themselves.
ryan213@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 345d
The other kind of mass shooting.
friend_of_satan@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 345d
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 345d
Sparkling massacre?
TehBamski@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 343d
Don’t forget to pick up your free thoughts and prayers. Now, nearly all of them are 100% made in the US. Looking good, the United States of America. We’re number one in another thing that’s horrible to be ranked high in, around the world.
StarryPhoenix97@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 344d
notsure@fedia.io · 4 pts · 345d
...remind me again how this person was certified to own a firearm?..
Buelldozer@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 344d
U.S. Marine - Iraq War Veteran (04-08) with high qualifications on the rifle range and no criminal record. Husband and a father. Gainfully employed.
So why would you disqualify this person in advance based on that history?
burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 344d
The marine part, presumably.
::: spoiler spoiler I'm joking, you crayon munchers! :::
ThePantser@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 345d
"Muh right to bear arms!"
Pretty fucked up reason, isn't it?
Buelldozer@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 344d
At this time there's nothing in the man's history that would lead anyone to believe that he couldn't be trusted. He was a husband and a father. He was a U.S. Marine (served 04-08) and he had no criminal history. He likely would have passed any 1st world ownership test.
No idea what happened to the guy to make him do this but I'm sure it will come out eventually.
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 344d
He white?
6stringringer@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 344d
(Rubbing my eyes with one hand while hanging my head downward) Big sigh. Yeah, he white.
SereneSadie@lemmy.myserv.one · 1 pts · 345d
My Mormon mother died about a month ago.
Pity, I cant shove this in her face as evidence that her bigoted dogma was always hypocritical.
drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 344d
SethTaylor@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 345d
I bet they weren't happy when that guy knocked on their door.
(I know, I know, terrible joke, but someone had to say it)
Gammelfisch@lemmy.world · -9 pts · 344d
If the two US flags were burned by the fire the POS set, charge him for that too.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · -18 pts · 345d
TheRealKuni@piefed.social · 53 pts · 345d
Yeah, the vehicle in question definitely screams “PoC” and not “white fucknugget.” /s
The_v@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 345d
Notice the Iraq on the plate.
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/vehicle/license-plates/military-and-veteran-plate-options
Mentally ill veteran goes on a shooting rampage after massive cuts to the department of veterans affairs. Absolutely could not be related in any way..
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/veterans-affairs-doctors-warning-letter
merdaverse@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 345d
Yeah, it's confirmed he was a veteran:
https://nypost.com/2025/09/28/us-news/iraq-war-veteran-thomas-sanford-idd-as-gunman-who-attacked-grand-blanc-lds-church-killing-2-and-setting-it-ablaze/
someguy3@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 345d
What's that on top of the cab? Something or debris?
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 345d
Appears to be bricks
aislopmukbang@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 345d
WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com · 29 pts · 345d
I think its a joke about how if the shooter was white, they'd have taken him alive. The shooter is from a town that's 80% white, so...
aislopmukbang@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 345d
chiocciola@lemmy.cafe · 7 pts · 345d
I’m pretty sure pelespirit doesn’t joke
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 344d
You're right, it wasn't a joke, but the sentiment is correct.
chiocciola@lemmy.cafe · 1 pts · 344d
The sentiment that you are spreading lies?
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 344d
The mod thought I was being racist, but it's the opposite. If the the shooter is a person of color, they are 99% killed by racist cops. If the shooter is white, it's 50/50. I'm not joking, it's the way it seems. I'd love for a study to be done on it. Do you know of one?
davidagain@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 344d
If the shooter was not white it would be in every headline.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 344d
This is what I meant, but I wasn't joking. I wonder if there's been studies on it.
UncleArthur@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 345d
I got the joke.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 345d
It wasn't really a joke. It's going to turn into a mess if it is, by the right wingers turning it into something. I get why the mod removed it though.
curbstickle@anarchist.nexus · 7 pts · 345d
What exactly are you basing that on?
The parishioners have commented that they didnt know the guy, that he had camo pants on, came in with an assault rifle, and that the truck the suspect drove into the church with had a bunch of American flags on it.
The suspect lives in Burton (~90% white) which is even less diverse than Grand Blanc (~80% white), and with shootings at religious institutions, they are usually closely linked to that church (which is currently being investigated).
Edit: The truck used apparently had an Iraqi Conflict veteran license plate, in addition to what I mentioned above.
SilverCode@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 345d
Proof Of Concept?
Deconceptualist@leminal.space · 3 pts · 345d
Piece Of Cheese?
tidderuuf@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 345d
Prompt Or Circumstances?
chiocciola@lemmy.cafe · 1 pts · 345d