THE WASHINGTON POST: Michigan churchgoers saved fellow congregants; motive still unclear, FBI says

Worshippers at the Michigan church that came under attack on Sunday heroically helped drag their fellow congregants to safety, officials said at a news conference, as details emerged about the gunman’s apparent resentment toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

All congregants at the church in Grand Blanc have been accounted for, authorities said Monday. Four people were killed in the attack.

“They were heroes,” said Michael Danic, the medical chief of staff at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, which treated victims of the attack. “Those on the scene were absolute heroes, going in and out of the fire to drag people out, helping each other take care of the victims.”

Eight people, ranging in age from 6 to 78, were injured, Mr Danic said. Five people were treated for gunshot wounds and three for smoke inhalation, he added, and at least two are in critical condition.

The FBI is still working to determine a motive and has interviewed more than 100 victims and witnesses, said Reuben Coleman, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Detroit field office. He said the agency is investigating the incident as an act of targeted violence but declined to say whether authorities believed that the target was a person or the church, commonly known as the Mormon Church.

The gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, died after police exchanged gunfire with him, according to law enforcement. Investigators say Sanford crashed a vehicle into the building on Sunday morning during a service and then opened fire on worshippers.

Though officials have yet to release a motive, interviews with people who have interacted with Sanford suggest he held strong opinions about the church.

While living in Utah 15 years ago, Sanford dated a woman who wanted him to convert to the faith, said Sandra Winter, Sanford’s former landlord and housemate. The question was “a big part of the conflict in his life at the time,” Ms Winter said.

Last week, Sanford also interacted with a local political candidate in Michigan. When the discussion turned to religion, Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns said Sanford referred to the Mormon Church as the “anti-Christ.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmercondemned the attack and said she spoke with President Donald Trump, who shared his condolences. At the end of a month jarred by several high-profile shootings, she urged people to “lower the temperature of rhetoric.”

James Deir, the special agent in charge of the Detroit division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said investigators recovered improvised explosive devices during the investigation.

“There is no place in our society for this,” Mr Deir said of the attack. “There’s absolutely no place, but it’s become all too common, and as we know, we have become more and more desensitised.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’s Fox & Friends on that the FBI was executing search warrants at residences and family homes of the shooter and that his family is cooperating with the investigation.

Sanford, who police said is from the nearby town of Burton, served in the US Marine Corps between June 2004 and June 2008 and deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom from August 2007 to March 2008, according to military records.

Sanford’s father declined to comment in a text message to The Washington Post on Sunday evening. Efforts to reach other relatives of Sanford were unsuccessful.

Ms Winter said after Sanford left the Marine Corps, he moved to Utah to work for a family friend who had a lawn care and snow removal business. He rented him a room in Winter’s house in Snyderville, a suburb of Park City.

Winter described Sanford as a “really nice guy” who helped her take care of her young children and pets. While living in Utah, Ms Winter said Sanford began dating a woman who had a strong connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She recalled Sanford agonising over the decision of whether to convert to his girlfriend’s religion.

“It was a conflict in his minds and emotions,” Winter said, adding: “I wouldn’t say it was a lot of anger, it was more like, ‘What do I do?’”

After about a year, Winter said Sanford abruptly moved out of her house. She isn’t sure how long the relationship with his girlfriend lasted.

In his interaction with Mr Johns last week, Sanford again referenced his past in Utah. Mr Johns had been canvassing for his campaign when he approached Sanford at his home and was invited into the driveway to talk.

Within minutes, Mr Johns said, Sanford told him that he had served in the Marine Corps, deployed to Iraq and “experienced drug addiction issues.” Sanford was especially distraught over the church not agreeing with his tattoos, Johns said.

“I will never forget this,” Johns added, “he said, ‘Mormons are the anti-Christ.’”

The church that was attacked Sunday is on a peaceful tree-lined street with ranch homes that was bustling Monday morning, US time, with reporters, photographers and videographers. A roadblock guarded by a police officer was set up to prevent reporters from getting too close to the church.

Dan Beazley, from the Detroit suburb of Northville, walked down the street toward the remains of the church, dragging an oversize cross.

“I’m here to shine a light on about the darkest situation you can get to,” said Beazley, who said he had taken the cross to Arizona this month for the memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“When people are worshiping, I don’t care what religion they are. They should be able to go to worship in peace without worrying about getting killed,” he said. “There should be no safer place.”

Andrew Beauchesne, a clerk at O’Reilly Auto Parts down the road, said he was driving to work Sunday when he saw smoke in the distance.

“Just horrible. You can’t expect it to happen here, but it did,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy.”

Daniel Mallett, an assistant manager at O’Reilly who, like Beauchesne, lives in Grand Blanc, said he was stunned by the attack, which he described as “too close to home.”

“We’re kind of helpless,” he said. “It’s all political to me, the right against the left, about gun control.”