{"id":39656,"date":"2025-09-30T17:33:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=39656"},"modified":"2025-09-30T17:33:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:33:54","slug":"father-of-michigan-church-shooting-suspect-thomas-jacob-sanford-breaks-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=39656","title":{"rendered":"Father of Michigan Church Shooting Suspect Thomas Jacob Sanford Breaks Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thomas Jacob Sanford | The remains of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Michigan | Source: Facebook\/KatieLadzinski | Getty Images<\/div>\n

Father of Michigan Church Shooting Suspect Thomas Jacob Sanford Breaks Silence<\/h1>\n
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“We are completely in shock over this.” The words hang heavy in the aftermath of a tragedy that has shaken a quiet Michigan town, leaving investigators searching for answers and a family reeling from the unimaginable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thomas Sanford<\/strong>, father of Thomas Jacob Sanford<\/strong>, the man accused of carrying out the deadly shooting and arson attack<\/strong> at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, broke his silence on Monday in a heart-wrenching statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Emergency services respond to a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In the exclusive statement to NBC News, he said<\/a> his family is “completely in shock”<\/strong> and has no explanation<\/i> for the massacre that has stunned the tight-knit Michigan community. In his grief-stricken plea, Thomas Sanford<\/strong> also expressed condolences to the victims and the community, asking for privacy as they grapple with the loss of their own son and the devastation he wrought<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As the FBI takes the lead in the investigation, Special Agent in Charge Reuben Coleman<\/strong> declared<\/a> the massacre an act of “targeted violence.”<\/strong> Yet the motive behind the senseless rampage<\/strong> remains maddeningly elusive as agents are still searching for a motive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer<\/strong> implored the public not to jump to conclusions. “At this juncture, speculation is unhelpful and it can be downright dangerous,” the governor warned<\/a> at a press conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A firefighter walks as crews respond to a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The chilling transformation of Thomas Jacob Sanford<\/strong> has left even casual acquaintances deeply shaken. Kris Johns<\/strong>, a Burton city council candidate, told CNN he had a brief but alarming run-in with the suspect just a week before the tragedy. What began as a polite conversation quickly took a disturbing turn.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A few minutes into what had been a friendly conversation, the city council candidate recalled, the suspect abruptly asked<\/a>, “‘What do you think about guns?’ and ‘What do you know about Mormons?'”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The city council candidate also said the once-friendly tone quickly twisted into hostile rhetoric<\/strong>, culminating in the suspect spewing inflammatory language about his hatred of the church.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Church members reunite at Trillium Theater across from the site of a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 28, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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To those who knew him personally, the transformation<\/strong> of Thomas Jacob Sanford<\/strong> into a suspected mass killer is utterly bewildering. <\/i>Kara Pattison<\/strong>, a longtime friend, described<\/a> him as a “fun-loving family guy,”<\/strong> but admitted he held concerning prejudices<\/strong> beneath the surface.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He definitely talked about groups of people in ways that weren’t acceptable,” she said<\/a>. Just two days before the rampage, the friend and her 16-year-old daughter, Lydia,<\/strong> were nearly run down by a truck \u2014 driven, she said, by the suspect himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The teenager<\/strong>, who had previously babysat the suspect’s young son, said her world was shattered. “I was devastated,” she said<\/a>. “I didn’t think someone that I knew and loved would do this to people. It’s devastating. It’s so bad.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Emergency personnel, including FBI agents and Michigan State Police, respond to a church shooting and fire in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Former coworkers offered a strikingly different portrait of the man now accused of orchestrating a church bloodbath. Garry Reynolds Jr.<\/strong>, who worked alongside Thomas Jacob Sanford at a Coca-Cola distribution center in Flint, said the suspect<\/a> was once lighthearted, loving, and deeply devoted to his family<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He was hilarious,” the colleague added<\/a>. “That’s why we’re all so stunned, because he was this really good guy. This was a guy that planted sunflowers. He had a large field of sunflowers. They’d all come up at once, and he would let people come and take pictures in his field, just because it made people happy.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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State Police patrol the street outside the shooting suspect’s residence in Burton, Michigan on September 28, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The unthinkable <\/strong>act of violence<\/strong><\/a> unfolded on September 28, 2025<\/strong>. According to police, the suspect rammed his truck<\/strong><\/a> into the church, opened fire, and then <\/strong>set the building on fire<\/strong><\/a>. Flames engulfed the structure, but local fire crews managed to extinguish the blaze within an hour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to a report, the death toll<\/a> from the church shooting has risen to four after police searched the charred remains of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The charred remains of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The U.S. Marine Corps confirmed that the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, served as a Marine<\/a> from 2004 to 2008, completing multiple combat deployments to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He held positions as an automotive mechanic and vehicle recovery operator, ending his service at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The political world was quick to respond to the horrifying tragedy. President Donald Trump<\/strong> addressed the public on Truth Social<\/strong>, writing<\/a>, “This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America. The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump confirmed the FBI’s involvement<\/strong> and emphasized their coordination with state and local law enforcement. He added<\/a>, “In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2025 | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Vice President J. D. Vance<\/strong> also expressed his heartbreak, calling the massacre deeply troubling<\/strong> and assuring the public that the administration was monitoring developments<\/a> while standing firmly with the victims and first responders<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As investigators continue combing through the ashes of the ruined church, the town of Grand Blanc is left mourning lives lost, grappling with the collapse of a familiar face into unthinkable violence, and waiting for clarity that may never come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For now, sorrow overshadows speculation, and a community bound by faith and family is left to pick up the pieces in the wake of devastation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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news.AmoMama.com does not support or promote any kind of violence, self-harm, or abusive behavior. We raise awareness about these issues to help potential victims seek professional counseling and prevent anyone from getting hurt. news.AmoMama.com speaks out against the above mentioned and news.AmoMama.com advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. that benefits the victims. We also encourage everyone to report any crime incident they witness as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas Jacob Sanford | The remains of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Michigan | Source: Facebook\/KatieLadzinski | Getty Images Father of Michigan Church Shooting Suspect Thomas Jacob … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39658,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39656\/revisions\/39658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}