The father of Michigan church shooter Thomas Jacob Sanford said his family is “devastated” in the wake of his son’s deadly rampage, and that they have “no answer” for why the decorated Marine and married father would have done something so evil.
The elder Thomas Sanford described his son — who died in a shootout with police outside the Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc, Michigan after driving his pickup truck through the front door and setting the building on fire — as a loving father and husband.
Thomas Jacob Sanford (top right), aka Jake Sanford, is seen with his sister and parents in an undated Facebook photo. Facebook/Jake Sanford
Emergency crews respond to a shooting and fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sept. 28, 2025. AP“He was an ex-Marine and we are completely in shock over this; we have no answers,” he said in a statement to NBC News.
“We are asking for privacy as we grieve our loss and those of the others.”
In a separate interview with the Detroit Free Press, Sanford said his son was “under fire” one time during his deployment in Iraq, but said “most of the time he was fine.”
Asked what could have led to his son to commit such an atrocity, Sanford declined to speculate.
“The only thing I can say is that it was my son that did it,” Sanford told the outlet. “As far as why? Irrelevant. It happened. We’re dealing with it. It’s been a nightmare.”
People are reunited at Trillium NCG Theatre with friends and family who were present during a nearby shooting and structure fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on McCandlish Road in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. APFour people were killed in the mass shooting and fire attack, and eight others were wounded, two of whom remain in critical condition.
Grand Blanc Police Chief William Reyne said at a press conference Monday that all church members who were present when the attack took place have now been accounted for.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Michigan church shooting
- Michigan church shooter Thomas Sanford’s family ‘completely in shock’ over his deadly rampage
- Thomas Sanford had prior arrests ahead of deadly attack, officials reveal, as all worshippers inside accounted for
- Thomas Sanford called Mormonism ‘the antichrist’ in hateful tirade to city council candidate
- Michigan gunman’s mom posted eerie message about someone ‘avoiding accountability’ days before shooting
Sanford, 40, crashed his Chevy Silverado truck into the church, before exiting the vehicle and shooting at worshippers with an assault rifle. Authorities said there were hundreds of congregants inside at the time.
Investigators are still searching for a motive, but Sanford may have harbored some animosity toward the Mormon church due to a past relationship gone bad.
Kris Johns, 44, who is running for a city council seat in Sanford’s hometown of Burton, recalled a disturbing conversation with the deceased killer he had while canvassing neighborhoods just last week.
Johns described Sanford as “extremely friendly” during their approximately 20-minute chat, but said the conversation “took a sharp turn” when the topic moved to religion.
Sanford said he had a relationship with a woman whose family was Mormon when he lived in Utah, and proceeded to go on a tirade about the religion, calling it “the antichrist,” Johns told the Detroit Free Press.
