Four dead after attack on Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc, Michigan

Four people were killed after shootings and a fire at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Grand Blanc, a small town in Michigan, police said following the incident on Sunday evening, local time. Several others were injured. Police said the suspect, a 40-year-old man, is reportedly also dead.

Local police chief William Renye told reporters that the suspect drove a vehicle through the church’s entrance doors and then fired at people inside with an assault rifle. A service had just taken place, and “hundreds of people” were in the building. Police said the attacker then set the church on fire, and the entire building was reportedly engulfed in flames. The fire has since reportedly been extinguished.

Investigators assume the suspect used an accelerant and deliberately set the fire. They also found several suspected explosive devices but gave no further details about their possible use. Images from the scene showed rescue workers carrying people on stretchers and a large dark plume of smoke over the church. Asked how many victims died from gunshot wounds and how many from the fire, investigators said two died from gunshots and gave no further details on the other two deaths. They said several people are still missing, and the number is unclear.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is leading the investigation and is examining the incident as a possible “targeted act of violence.” ABC has reported that the alleged attacker is a U.S. veteran of the Iraq War. Police initially provided no information on a possible motive, and it remains unclear whether the shooter had any connection to the church or to people present there. At a press conference, the FBI said it is determined to clarify the facts, circumstances and motives. A search warrant for the suspect’s apartment is to be issued, and mobile phone records and similar material will be examined. Reports say the FBI is supporting the investigation with 100 staff members. Because many people were in the church, many witness statements will need to be obtained.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “the suspect is dead, but there is still much to clarify,” and that the incident “appears to be another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.” He gave no details and presented no initial evidence for that claim. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the entire federal government is following the situation in Michigan and asked for prayers for the victims on X, as did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also condemned the incident on X, writing that violence “in a place of worship is unacceptable,” and thanked first responders who acted quickly.

The attack came months after a separate incident in August, when a person fired through the windows of a church in Minneapolis during a school service, striking children seated in the pews. Two children died at the scene. The FBI later treated that case as a terrorism suspicion. The suspect had expressed anti-religious and anti-Catholic views in a manifesto and in inscriptions on weapons, and the hatred is said to have also been directed against Jews. The prosecution also cited hatred of Black people and Mexicans.

For families and congregants in Grand Blanc, the immediate concern remains the victims, the injured and the people still unaccounted for, as investigators continue to gather statements and evidence (Psalm 34:18).

Source: Read the original report (translated from German)