GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) \u2014 A gunman opened fire inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service and set the building ablaze, killing at least two people and injuring eight others before police shot him, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people were inside the church in Grand Blanc Township when a man rammed a four-door pickup with two American flags in the truck bed through the front door, then got out of the vehicle and started shooting, Police Chief William Renye told reporters. Investigators believe he \u201cdeliberately\u201d set the building on fire, Renye said.<\/p>\n
Officers responded to a 911 call and were at the church within 30 seconds and killed the shooter about seven minutes later, Renye said. After the suspect left the church, two officers pursued him and \u201cengaged in gunfire,\u201d the chief said.<\/p>\n
Flames and smoke could be seen pouring from the church for hours before the blaze was put out.<\/p>\n
Renye identified the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from neighboring Burton. Reyne did not specify a motive at a news conference on Sunday evening. Police cordoned off the street leading to the suspect\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
Renye said one of the wounded people was in critical condition Sunday evening and seven others were stable. Earlier in the day, Renye had said authorities believed they would find more victims once they could sift through the wreckage and find where the fire was.<\/p>\n
The motive was not yet clear<\/p>\n
Investigators were searching the suspect\u2019s residence in nearby Burton. Authorities did not provide any additional details about the suspect, including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.<\/p>\n
It was the latest of\u00a0many shooting attacks\u00a0on houses of worship in the U.S. over the past 20 years, including one in August that killed two children during Mass at the\u00a0Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump\u00a0said in a social media post that he was briefed on the shooting and applauded the FBI for its response. Local authorities said the FBI was sending 100 agents to Grand Blanc Township, a community of roughly 40,000 people outside Flint.<\/p>\n
\u201cPRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n
The church building, circled by a parking lot and a large lawn, is near residential areas and a Jehovah\u2019s Witness church.<\/p>\n
Brad Schneemann, whose home is about 400 yards (365 meters) from the church, told The Associated Press that he and his daughter heard \u201ctwo rounds of four to five shots\u201d around 10:30 a.m. \u201cThen, we really didn\u2019t hear anything for a while” before they left their home to see what was going on.<\/p>\n
Tight-knit church community<\/p>\n
Timothy Jones, 48, said his family is part of another Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation, or ward, about 15 minutes away, but that his children were at the Grand Blanc Township ward Saturday night for a youth fall festival. He and his family moved to Flint two years ago in large part because of how strong the faith’s community is in the area, he said.<\/p>\n
As people in his congregation got word of the shooting from texts and phone calls during their Sunday service, his ward went into lockdown and police came as a precaution, he said. His children were “frantically, just trying to get word that people were OK.”<\/p>\n
Sundays are \u201csupposed to be a time of peace and a time of reflection and worship,\u201d Jones said. Yet in the wake of violence at other houses of worship, a shooting \u201cfeels inevitable, and all the more tragic because of that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The shooting occurred the morning after\u00a0Russell M. Nelson, the\u00a0oldest-ever president\u00a0of the Utah-based faith, died at 101. The next president is expected to be Dallin H. Oaks, per\u00a0church protocol.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe church is in communication with local law enforcement as the investigation continues and as we receive updates on the condition of those affected,\u201d spokesperson Doug Anderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaces of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impact of the shooting spread throughout the area<\/p>\n
When striking nurses at nearby Henry Ford Hospital heard about the shooting, some left the picket line and ran the short distance to the church to help first responders, Teamsters Local 332 President Dan Glass said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman lives matter more than our labor dispute,\u201d Glass said.<\/p>\n
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement that her heart was breaking for the community. \u201cViolence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The impact spread quickly to neighboring communities, including the small city that shares a name with the township.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we are two separate governmental units, we are a very cohesive community,\u201d said city of Grand Blanc Mayor John Creasey. \u201cThis sort of thing is painful for our entire community.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press reporters Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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