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Thomas Sanford, the former U.S. Marines veteran identified as the lone suspect in the shooting at a Michigan Latter-day Saints church that he also set on fire Sunday (September 28) morning, reportedly went on a hateful tirade against Mormons as being "the antichrist" just days before the incident occurred.
Kris Johns, who is running for a seat on the Burton City Council, told the Detroit Free Press that he encountered an otherwise "extremely friendly" Sanford while canvassing on September 22. Johns said the two chatted for about 20 minutes and Sanford's animosity toward the LDS church didn't seem violent, describing it as "very much standard anti-LDS talking points that you would find on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook," prior to seeing images on television and social media of the attack on Sunday, with the same man's photo circulating online.
“There’s certain things you don’t forget," Johns said of Sanford. "This is not a forgettable guy.”
Sanford reportedly drove his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck into the church before firing shots at parishioners during a service and then setting the building ablaze, which caused it to burn down entirely. Authorities said they fear more victims could've been harmed in the fire than initially reported.
Sanford, who was killed at the scene during a shootout with police, reportedly served in the Iraq War as a U.S. Marine from 2004 to 2008, according to a Facebook post shared by his mother. The suspect was reportedly killed minutes after the initial 911 call was placed.
A Department of Natural Resources officer and a local township police officer were the initial first responders to arrive at the scene about 30 seconds after the incident was reported. Authorities later confirmed that Sanford was the lone suspect in the shooting.
The source of the blaze wasn't initially known, however, multiple sources told the New York Post that several improvised explosives were located on the church property, which would be investigated by a bomb squad. Hundreds of worshippers were reported to be present inside the church at the time of the incident and aerial footage shared online showed a large plume of black smoke was rising up from the building.