At least 4 killed, 8 injured in Michigan church attack

A gunman who crashed his vehicle into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, opened fire with an assault rifle and set the building ablaze, leaving at least four people dead and eight wounded before being killed by police, authorities said. The suspect was identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, a former US Marine from nearby Burton. Officials said two victims died at the scene and eight others were hospitalized; later, two additional bodies were found in the charred ruins as firefighters worked through the debris. Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said officers arrived within seconds of the first calls and fatally shot the attacker in the parking lot roughly eight minutes after the rampage began. Investigators, led by the FBI with support from the ATF, believe an accelerant—likely gasoline—was used to fuel the blaze and said some explosives were recovered. Authorities are examining the suspect’s home and phone to determine a motive. The massacre occurred hours after separate mass shootings in North Carolina and Texas, drawing renewed attention to the persistent cycle of US gun violence. President Donald Trump condemned the attack on social media, calling for the “epidemic of violence” to end immediately.