What we know about Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Michigan church shooting suspect

• Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, was identified as the suspect in a deadly Michigan church shooting.
• Sanford was a U.S. Marines veteran who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008.
• Sanford called Mormons "the antichrist" in a tirade, according to a city council candidate.

Michigan law enforcement authorities identified 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan as the suspect who killed four people and injured eight others when he rammed a pickup truck into a church in central Michigan and opened fire.

One of the eight injured victims is in critical condition while the seven others are in stable condition, officials said at a Sept. 28 evening news conference.

Hundreds of people were attending the service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint, Michigan, when authorities said the suspect drove his vehicle into the church at 10:25 a.m. A local political candidate who knocked on Sanford's door recently said Johns told him the church is "the antichrist."

The suspect then exited the vehicle and fired “several rounds” at people inside the church with an assault rifle, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said. Sanford used gasoline as an accelerant to light the church on fire, officials said. Sanford died after exchanging gunfire with responding officers in the church's parking lot.

Here's what we know about Sanford:

City council candidate: Sanford called Mormons 'the antichrist'

Police have not identified a motive for the shooting. And in an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Sanford's father, Thomas Sanford, apologized to the families of those who died in the shooting while refusing to speculate as to what drove the attack.

"The only thing I can say is that it was my son that did it," Sanford said. "As far as why? Irrelevant. It happened. We're dealing with it. It's been a nightmare."

However, a candidate for Burton City Council who campaigned at Sanford's door told the Free Press that Sanford went on a tirade against the church and said Mormons were "the antichrist."

The candidate, Kris Johns, said Sanford began asking him open-ended questions about Mormonism, first asking how Johns felt about the religion. And the more questions Sanford asked on the topic, the more pointed they became, Johns said. He said Sanford asked him about the Mormon bible, the role Jesus plays in the religion, the history of the LDS church and Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of Mormonism and the LDS movement.

Johns said everything Sanford asked him about Mormonism led to Sanford declaring the religion as "the antichrist."

Johns told USA TODAY he spoke with the FBI and State Police on Sept. 28.

Pressed about a motive by a reporter during a news conference the evening of Sept. 28, police said they're still looking.

"We can't come to those kinds of conclusions for some time," Lt. Kim Vetter, Michigan State Police said.

The FBI is leading the investigation. Reuben Coleman, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit field office, said the incident is being investigated as an act of "targeted violence." But he did not offer any indication of what the motive for the incident might have been.

He urged the public to share any information that might be helpful, encouraging them to call 1-800-FBI TIPS or go to tips.fbi.gov.

Thomas Jacob Sanford lived in nearby town

The suspect's hometown of Burton is about eight miles north of Grand Blanc, Michigan.

The suspect also went by "Jake" to many of his acquaintances, according to records and past news reports.

At 5 p.m. on Sunday, there was a strong showing of law enforcement in front of Sanford's home, according to reporters at the scene from the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

A Michigan State Police helicopter circled overhead, and dozens of police vehicles had the road blocked in front of the home. A bomb squad vehicle with bulldozer tracks and an armored cab was also stationed out front, with other vehicles, including two bomb squad vans, multiple police cruisers, and an ambulance waiting at the ready.

An Iraq War veteran

The US Marine Corps confirmed that Sanford served in the corps between 2004 and 2008, where he held the rank of sergeant and worked as an Organizational Automotive Mechanic and Vehicle Recovery Operator. 

Sanford was deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom for just over six months ending in early 2008. He was awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. 

His last assignment was to a maintenance battalion in Camp Lejeune, NC.

Sanford did stints in Japan and Iraq after graduating from Goodrich High School in 2003, according to a 2007 news article from the Clarkston News.

The newspaper described his military career at the time as "stellar." He served in Okinawa, Japan, earned honors "on the rifle range," and was a sergeant before he was sent to serve in Fallujah, Iraq, the newspaper reported. The paper said he was a wrecker driver who helped recover damaged vehicles.

In one post, Sanford's mother posted a photo of Sanford in his Marine uniform. "Thank you to our son.. service 2004-2008.. Iraq Veteran!!" she wrote.

A 2015 article from the Lake Orion Review also referenced Sanford serving in the Marines from 2004 to 2008. He also worked at a Coca-Cola facility for a period, according to the report, although it was unclear in what capacity.

A hunter and outdoorsman

Sanford appeared to be an avid hunter and fisherman, according to photos posted on Facebook pages of his loved ones, including his girlfriend and mother.

Photos show him in camouflage hunting gear with deer he had harvested, and fish he'd caught while ice fishing. 

Son battled rare disease of hyperinsulinism

Sanford's son Brantlee was born about a decade ago with a rare condition called hyperinsulinism, where high levels of insulin increase the risk of brain complications.

Doctors could not diagnose him, and the family hit dead end after dead end. 

“We found out Brantlee was having problems shortly after his birth,” Sanford said in a 2016 interview about their experience. “It was a nightmare for us. We were slowly realizing that Brantlee wasn’t a typical premature baby."

That was until one day they received a call that changed their prognosis.

“My sister had sent me a newsletter from a children’s hospital in Texas called Cook Children’s. I emailed the writer of this article on congenital hyperinsulinism while waiting for a miracle to happen,” Sanford said.

One of the doctors called the family. Together with the baby, Sanford and his wife Tella traveled to Cook Children’s Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center and Endocrine Diabetes program in Texas, one of the few centers in the country that treats the illness.

Suspect photographed in Trump t-shirt

Although Sanford’s political views are unclear, Sanford is seen wearing a camouflage Trump 2020 campaign shirt in a 2019 photo from a Facebook page dedicated to his son’s medical journey.

A Google Street view of a home that public records identify as Sanford’s primary address shows a blue "Trump-Pence" yard sign attached to a backyard fence. The image was taken in June.

Sanford is registered to vote in Burton, Michigan, but available records do not show when he last voted. In Michigan, voters do not register by party. 

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

Contributing: Andrea May Sahouri and John Wisely, Detroit Free Press

(This story has been updated to correct a typo.)