What we know about Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Michigan church shooting suspect Chris Quintana, Joey Garrison and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY September 28, 2025 at 11:24 PM 1 Michigan law enforcement authorities identified 40yearold Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan as the suspect who killed...
- - What we know about Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Michigan church shooting suspect
Chris Quintana, Joey Garrison and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY September 28, 2025 at 11:24 PM
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Michigan law enforcement authorities identified 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan as the suspect who killed two people and injured eight others when he rammed a pickup truck into a church in central Michigan and opened fire.
One of the eight injured victims is in critical condition while the seven others are in stable condition, officials said at a Sept. 28 evening news conference.
More: 2 dead and 8 injured after shooting, fire at Michigan church; suspect identified: Updates
Emergency services respond to a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sept. 28, 2025 in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Police said there are multiple victims and the shooter is down.
Hundreds of people were attending the service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint, Michigan, when authorities said the suspect drove his vehicle into the church at 10:25 a.m.
The suspect then exited the vehicle and fired "several rounds" at people inside the church with an assault rifle, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said. Sanford died after exchanging gunfire with responding officers in the church's parking lot.
Here's what we know about Sanford:
Thomas Jacob Sanford lived in nearby town
The suspect's hometown of Burton is about eight miles north of Grand Blanc, Michigan.
The suspect also went by "Jake" to many of his acquaintances, according to records and past news reports.
An Iraq War veteran
Sanford appears to have been a veteran of the U.S. Marines, according to posts by Sanford's mother on her Facebook page.
In one post, Sanford's mother posted a photo of Sanford in his Marines uniform. "Thank you to our son.. service 2004-2008.. Iraq Veteran!!" she wrote.
A 2015 article from the Lake Orion Review also referenced Sanford serving in the Marines from 2004 to 2008. He also worked at a Coca-Cola facility for a period, according to the report, although it was unclear in what capacity.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request from USA TODAY seeking information about Sanford's military record.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a shooting which took place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to police, in Grand Blanc Township on Sept. 28, 2025.Son battled rare disease of hyperinulinism
Sanford's son Brantlee was born about a decade ago with a rare condition called hyperinulinism, where high levels of insulin increase the risk of brain complications.
Doctors could not diagnose him and the family hit dead end after dead end.
"We found out Brantlee was having problems shortly after his birth," Sanford said in a 2016 interview about their experience. "It was a nightmare for us. We were slowly realizing that Brantlee wasn't a typical premature baby."
That was until one day they received a call that changed their prognosis.
"My sister had sent me a newsletter from a children's hospital in Texas called Cook Children's. I emailed the writer of this article on congenital hyperinsulinism while waiting for a miracle to happen," Sanford said.
One of the doctors called the family. Together with the baby, Sanford and his wife Tella traveled to Cook Children's Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center and Endocrine Diabetes program in Texas, one of the few centers in the country that treat the illness.
Grand Blance Township Chief of Police William Renye speaks alongside state and county officials following a shooting and a fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thomas Jacob Sanford identified as Michigan church shooting suspect
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