On Sunday morning, a gunman rammed a pickup truck decorated with American flags into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc. He opened fire on the Mormon congregation and burned down the building.

5 people, including the shooter, are dead. The FBI says it’s still investigating a motive.

Kris Johns is a Burton, Michigan resident running for a seat on his local city council. He had an interaction with the suspect, 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, just days before the attack while canvasing houses ahead of the November election.

Johns says he didn’t realize that the man he spoke with was the suspect, until he saw photos of Sanford after the shooting.

“I do not remember him giving his name,” says Johns, “so the Sanford name I did not connect.”

He says Sanford came across as warm and genuine at first but adds that his line of questioning quickly shifted to questions about the Mormon religion. By the end of the conversation, Johns says Sanford told him he thought Mormons were the Anti-Christ.

“I’ve seen people more animated and angry about football teams,” says Johns. “His behavior, and this is 100% speculative, was indicative that he’s felt about this for a long time.”

Johns says he felt many of Sanford’s views seemed to be formed during a time he lived in Utah.

Anyone who has information that could help the FBI in their investigation is encouraged to reach out to the Bureau at their online tip portal or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered public buildings to fly flags at half-staff in memory of those who were killed in yesterday’s attack at a church in Grand Blanc Township.

Police say a former Marine drove his truck through the doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, started shooting at the hundreds of people worshiping inside, then set the building on fire.  Police identify the killer as Thomas Sanford of Burton, a former Marine who served in Iraq. 

Investigators say at least four people died and eight others were hurt.  

Officers fatally shot the gunman in the parking lot. The FBI is leading the investigation, trying to find a motive. 

Additional headlines from Monday, September 29, 2025

Arab Con 

People from across the nation gathered for ArabCon this past weekend. It’s the second time the national convening took place in Dearborn, home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans per capita.

The event was put on by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the U.S. The group hosts this annual convention as a way to promote cultural heritage, and bring together community leaders, activists, artists, and entrepreneurs. They also bring forth national speakers to discuss matters of importance to the community including the ongoing war in Gaza. 

Attendee Ali Baleed Almaklani is the Executive Director of the Yemeni American Benevolent Association. 

“Because this ADC [has] been working hard, serving the community, fighting for the rights of this community, the rights of Palestinian people. And when you come to the conference, you’ve see a lot of faces. You learn more from those who participate.”

Almaklani says it’s also a great way to network with people and purchase items from vendors. 

Panelists discussed a range of topics from politics to activism. 

United Way preparedness

United Way and Verizon are raising awareness for emergency preparedness as part of a community resiliency initiative. 

Marcus Coleman Jr. is the Vice President for Community Resiliency Strategy at United Way Worldwide. He says the organization was created in response to crisis and now there are 1,100 branches in 35 countries. 

He says as more and more extreme weather events occur such as severe floods, it’s important for people to be prepared. 

“For the weeks, months and years, long after that disaster, to really help communities recover and we mobilize, right? So United Way works with a number of groups on the private sector side, but we also come alongside the American Red Cross, Feeding America, Islamic Relief USA, and many others, to ensure that all needs can be met during a disaster.”

Coleman says United Way is hosting workshops to teach people about preparedness. People can find out more about workshops and tips at unitedway.org/prepare. 

Operation Warm 

The national nonprofit Operation Warm manufactures and distributes coats and shoes to students in need at Title I, or low-income, elementary schools

Brenda Lee is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Operation Warm. 

She says they’ve served over 7 million children in 25 years. 

“So a donation of $25 will supply a brand new winter coat for a child or a pair of shoes. And our programming is highly efficient, so 95 cents of every dollar donated goes directly back into coat and shoe programs.” 

The nonprofit recently did a survey, finding 36% of parents admit that they’ve kept their kid home on a cold day because they didn’t have a warm coat. 

Operation Warm has two gifting events coming up this year: one in Warren in October and one in Detroit in November. 

Lee says families whose children attend a Title I school can ask their school to join the Operation Warm wishlist and stay in the know about upcoming distributions.  

If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org.

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