Hundreds of residents from Grand Blanc gathered at a high school football field Tuesday night for a vigil honoring those affected by last month’s shooting at a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That attack left 5 people dead, including the shooter, and 8 others injured.

A number of religious and civic leaders took to the podium during the hour-long event, which was filled with prayers for victims and appreciation for local first responders. Grand Blanc Township supervisor Scott Bennett calls the attack a defining moment.

“And we want the families,” says Bennett, “and the world to know that Grand Blanc will not be defined by this horrific act of violence.”

Local law enforcement at the vigil could not provide an update on the ongoing investigation into the shooting, which is being led by the FBI. It’s been more than a week since the attack, but the bureau has not yet shared a motive or an official victim list.

Details on what happened between when the attack began and when first responders arrived have also not been made public. Local residents have told WDET that the alleged gunman held anti-Mormon sentiments.

Grand Blanc superintendent of schools, Trevor Alward, says the event’s impact has been felt across the community.

“We take back Grand Blanc by renouncing this act and celebrating our resilience. We are a community that is resilient. We are a community that shows love and compassion for each other.”

An official fund to support the victims of the attack can be found on Grand Blanc Township’s website. A separate go-fund-me page started by members of the Latter-day Saints community has raised more than $380,000 in support of the shooter’s family.

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).

At least five people, including the attacker, are dead after a gunman opened fire inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc on Sunday morning. Eight others were taken to the hospital.

The shooter has been identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, a military veteran from Burton, Michigan. Authorities say he rammed his truck into the church just before 10:30 a.m. local time and opened fire on the Mormon congregation.

The church was also set on fire during the ordeal. Investigators believe Sanford intentionally started the blaze and likely used an accelerant to intensify the flames.

Grand Blanc Township police chief William Renye, says local authorities were on the scene within minutes.

“The suspect,” says Renye, “was neutralized at 10:33:44 a.m. in the parking lot of that church.”

The FBI is leading an investigation into the attack and is treating it as a targeted act of violence. State law enforcement say they’ve responded to a number of bomb threats in the community following the Grand Blanc attack.

When asked whether the attack on the Mormon church was retaliation for the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah, Michigan State Police lieutenant Kimberly Vetter says it’s too soon to pinpoint a motive.

“That’s exactly what it is,” says Vetter, “is speculation. And we won’t come to those types of conclusions for some time.”

Law enforcement say they have not yet determined whether there are additional bodies in the burned-out church.

The FBI is asking members of the public to share any information that may help with the investigation.  That can be done by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or by using the Bureau’s online tip portal. 

While Donald Trump is in the United Kingdom meeting with prime minister Keir Starmer and the King of England, the highest-ranking U-S official on American soil is Vice President JD Vance. The VP visited Michigan yesterday, making a stop at a metal stamping plant in Howell.

Vance toured the facility before delivering a speech to a room of largely conservative supporters. The visit came one week after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered by a gunman in Utah.

Vance shouted out Kirk for his embodiment of conservative values and success in attracting youth into the Republican party. Main talking points also centered around President Trump’s economic policy and deployments of the National Guard.

“We deserve to be safe in our communities again,” said Vance, “and that’s what the president is making happen.”

Vance told the crowd he would be happy to see the National Guard deployed in Detroit, calling on Governor Whitmer to ask for the White House’s assistance. That’s despite crime rates in the city trending down in recent years.

Vance said the White House’s economic policies will make things cheaper for families.

“We talk about no taxes on overtime,” said Vance, “which we are proud to deliver — the lowest taxes we’ve had in this country in a very long time.”

Michigan Democrats have countered the president’s spending bill and economic policies have hurt residents around the state, driving up prices on things like healthcare and groceries.

In 2023, the City of Detroit took over the duty of maintaining the land alongside its freeways from the State of Michigan. That includes cutting the grass on embankments.

With more than 240 miles of freeways in Detroit to take care of, director of the city’s General Services Department, Crystal Perkins, says maintaining the land along the road is a full-time job.

“We have been doing five cuts on the freeways a year,” said Perkins, “Along with litter pickup, we’re out here seven days a week.”

Complicating the task, Perkins says more than 80% of that land is a steep slope.  Those embankments are traditionally cut with heavy duty riding mowers, which do run the risk of tipping over, creating a potentially dangerous situation for operators working just inches from where cars are doing 70 miles per hour.

But the days of worrying so much about rider safety could become a thing of the past. Payne Landscaping, one of two companies the city contracts with, has started to use remote-controlled lawnmowers.

The new technology moves the operator off the frame and up the slope, where they control the machine with a handheld device. Perkins says that set-up is attractive to a new generation of lawncare professionals.

“The operators are more technical,” said Perkins. “So your young adults, your people who maybe like to spend a lot of time on videogames.”

There are a number of benefits to working with the remote-controlled mowers, which are more lightweight than ride-along equipment. Payne Landscaping director, Terry Payne, says it allows his employees to cut grass, even when it’s wet.

“You can cut in the rain with these,” Payne said. “The other mowers, you cannot cut. You’re going to leave tracks.”

That makes it easier for the city to maintain its five-cut-a-year freeway upkeep schedule. City officials say keeping the slopes well-manicured helps discourage illegal dumping.

Beyond the convenience, Payne says the user experience with remote mowers is better than it is with ride-along gear.

“You bounce a lot,” Payne said of old mowers. “It’s bad on your knees and different things. So this is more comfortable. You’re just walking behind it.”

Detroit officials would like to see more remote-controlled lawn mowers buzzing alongside major thoroughfares, but the technology isn’t cheap — costing more than $60,000 per mower. That said, Payne says it’s about the same price as the traditional riding equipment his company would be using otherwise.

Gordie Howe International Bridge officials say construction work on the new span over the Detroit River is about 95% complete.

The project broke ground in 2018. The roughly 1.5-mile long crossing between Detroit and Windsor is still on track to open this fall, but an exact date has not yet been given.

Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority spokesperson Heather Grondin says crews are wrapping up paving work and putting the finishing touches on employee areas.

“We’re also doing a lot of landscaping,” said Grondin. “These are major ports of entry — the largest along the Canada-U.S. border — so landscaping is a huge part of the project.”

Grondin adds that crews have a number of final checks to carry out before the grand opening.

“Testing our lighting is a great example of that,” she said. “It’s not just installing the 5,000-plus aesthetic lights, the safety lights that will be on the bridge, but it’s also testing it and making sure it works.”

As for work residents in Michigan and Ontario may notice, Grondin says the construction cranes on the bridge have now come down — marking a major milestone in the project.

Work has also begun on testing the technological systems and processes in preparation for the bridge’s opening, according to project officials.