A Grand Blanc Township police officer and a state conservation officer fired 10 shots at an alleged shooter within just under four minutes of the first call concerning an attack on a Mormon church.
By George Hunter. Source The Detroit News
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MI — The Grand Blanc Township Police Department released video showing one of its officers and a state conservation officer fired 10 shots at Thomas Sanford during the deadly attack on a Mormon church Sunday after he refused to drop his weapon, Police Chief William Renye said Friday.
Both the unnamed Department of Natural Resources officer and the unnamed Grand Blanc Township officer fired shots at Sanford within 3 minutes and 43 seconds of the Genesee County 911 dispatch getting its first call at 10:25 a.m., Renye said during a press conference where he took no questions.
About two minutes later, the conservation officer arrived on the scene, the chief said. At 10:28 a.m. the unnamed officer arrived, Renye said, basing the new timeline on his review of bodycam video.
The officers told Sanford to “Drop the gun. Drop the gun. Drop it now,” according to Renye. When Sanford refused, they shot him dead.
Reyne said his officer fired what he believed to be eight shots, and the DNR officer two shots. A nearby congregant with a handgun did not fire any shots, he said.
Both officers are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Michigan State Police, which is standard procedure, Reyne said.
Out of concern for the family of Sanford and others who are grieving, the police chief said he edited the released clip down to 47 seconds and didn’t include video of the Grand Blanc officer approaching and checking out Sanford after he was shot.
“We will never forget this incident, but we will not let this incident define Grand Blanc,” Reyne said.
Sanford, 40, of Burton is accused of ramming his pickup truck into the side of the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday morning during a service, opening fire on congregants and setting the building on fire. Two people were shot dead, eight were wounded and two bodies were discovered in the rubble of the church, with the victims ranging in age from 6 to 78 years old.
The event is being investigated as an act of “targeted violence,” said Reuben Coleman, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. The FBI is now leading the investigation.
Police have said they have not identified a motive. But Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns said when he encountered Sanford at his home a week before the incident, Sanford steered the conversation toward the Second Amendment and religion, saying at one point: ” Mormons are the Antichrist.”
Township Supervisor Scott Bennett said at the news conference that the township has seen fraudulent activity attempting to divert donations from the victims of Sunday’s fire and shooting. He asked that people who need help be directed to township officials for aid.
The township, school district and chamber of chamber are sponsoring a Tuesday, 7 p.m. nondenominational, nonpolitical event at the high school’s athletic field for an evening of healing and remembrance, Bennett said.
Later Friday afternoon, Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson’s office is holding what it calls a “tactical briefing” for faith-based communities in the wake of last Sunday’s attack. Swanson said in a Tuesday video the event is for all faith-based communities in Genesee County, including churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship.
Metro Detroit faith leaders are encouraging houses of worship to review their security plans after the shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“What do you do to protect your faith-based community?” he said. “What steps do you have in place, what do you need to know? Those are the questions that this office has been getting and an overwhelming request of, ‘How can you help?'”
©2025 The Detroit News.
Visit detroitnews.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.