President Trump blasted the deadly shooting at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church in Michigan on Sunday as an attack on Christians\u00a0\u2014 as\u00a0White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated the gunman \u201chated people of the Mormon faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,\u201d\u00a0Trump\u00a0wrote on Truth Social in the wake of Sunday\u2019s carnage in Grand Blanc Township\u00a0that left at least four dead and wounded eight others.<\/p>\n
\u201cTHIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTHIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!\u201d Trump posted. AP<\/p>\n
The LDS church in Michigan was set on fire on Sunday, September 29, 2025. AP<\/p>\n
The FBI was still working to determine what motivated the maniac \u2014 identified as 40-year-old Iraq War vet\u00a0Thomas Sanford<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to ram his US-flag adorned pickup truck into the church and open fire as services were in full swing.<\/p>\n Sanford later\u00a0set fire to the church as hundreds of people were still inside.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what I understand based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,\u201d Leavitt told Fox News\u2019 \u201cFox & Friends\u201d on Monday morning without elaborating any further.<\/p>\n Emergency crews respond to a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grand Blanc, Mich. AP<\/p>\n \u201cThey are trying to understand more about this: How premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note.\u201d<\/p>\n Investigators have been scouring Sanford\u2019s home but authorities haven\u2019t publicly disclosed any further details on him \u2013 including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n Thomas Jacob Sanford, aka Jake Sanford, is seen in an undated Facebook photo. Facebook\/Jake Sanford<\/p>\n It comes as law enforcement returned to the scene early Monday to scour the\u00a0charred house of worship for any additional victims.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do believe there were people up there that were near that fire, and they were unable to get out of the church. So we do believe that we will have additional victims once we\u2019re able to search that,\u201d Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said.<\/p>\n USMC Cpl. Thomas Jacob Sanford, aka Jake Sanford, in an undated Facebook photo. Facebook\/Jake Sanford<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Of the slain victims, two were fatally shot, while the other two were found dead\u00a0inside the burned-out church<\/a>\u00a0after the blaze was extinguished, officials said.<\/p>\n