Gunman in Michigan LDS chapel shooting was Marine and Iraq War veteran: Officials
The man suspected of opening fire on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan on Sunday was a 40-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, who at one point considered converting to Mormonism, according to officials and childhood friends.
Police said the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, drove his truck into the Grand Blanc church before firing shots and setting the building on fire.
Sanford was killed in a shootout with police, officials said. At least four churchgoers were killed, and eight others were injured in the attack.
No motive has yet been identified in the deadly shooting and fire on Sunday.
A childhood friend of Sanford's said that after a stint in Utah, he dated a Mormon woman and considered converting.
It was during his time in Utah, where he moved after his military service, that Sanford also descended into heavy drug use, according to the friend, Peter Tersigni.
"I know three things. He moved to Utah. He started dating this girl and then investigated and learned about Mormons because she was a Mormon. And I know that also, he got into meth really hardcore. It messed his life up and it messed his head up. And it just happened to be at the time he was around Mormons," Peter Tersigni told ABC News.
His twin brother, Francis Tersigni, told ABC News, "I believe that if Jake never went to Utah, none of this would have ever happened. 1000%."
After a couple of years in Utah, Sanford moved back to Michigan in 2010, according to the brothers.
"When he came back, he was messed up. He was clearly affected by the drug use," Peter Tersigni said.
The friends drifted apart, but when they would meet up, Peter Tersigni said Sanford would go off on tangents about Mormons. He never attributed his negative feelings about the church to a breakup with the Mormon woman he dated, Peter Tersigni said.
In the wake of the deadly rampage, Sanford’s military record has also come into focus. The truck that he drove into the church bears an Iraq War veteran license plate, according to officials.
A photo posted to Sanford's mother's Facebook account in October 2024 appears to show him standing in front of the truck allegedly used in Sunday's attack.
ABC News has confirmed with the United States Marine Corps that Sanford served four years in the Marines from June 2004 to June 2008. He ultimately rose to the rank of sergeant, officials said.
He had one combat tour to Iraq that ended three months before he left the Marines, being deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2007.
While serving, Sanford specialized in handling military vehicle equipment. Both as a technician responsible for inspecting, servicing and repairing motor transport equipment like tactical vehicles and as a vehicle recovery operator, responsible for bringing back armored vehicles in support of troop missions.
He left the military in March 2008, after working in combat logistics at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Sanford's record provided by the Marine Corps indicates that he was given typical recognition at the time of his service for those of his rank.
Sanford was also a father of a son who grappled with serious health obstacles after he was born, according to posts online from the family and the hospital.
He had prior arrests for burglary and operating while intoxicated, authorities said at a press briefing Monday, though did not go into detail.
Sanford's father, Tom, briefly spoke to Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ on Monday, saying, "I feel so bad about the families that were affected by this, aside from ours."
"We’re not the only ones going through this devastation," he told the station. "We are beside ourselves."
