All victims accounted for following Michigan church attack

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(The Center Square) – All victims are now accounted for in the wake of Sunday’s attack on a Michigan church, officials reported.

Five are dead, including the gunman, and at least eight were injured in the attack. Multiple victims, who range in age from 6 to 76, remain in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation.

The attack began Sunday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. According to local authorities, the gunman rammed the building at 10:25 a.m. with his pickup truck, began shooting, and then set the building on fire.

On Sunday, local authorities were concerned they would find additional victims in the church, which was declared a total loss from the fire.

Since then, the building has been cleared.

“Everyone has been accounted for,” said Grand Blanc Township Police Department Chief William Renye at a press conference on Monday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Grand Blanc Township on Monday and participated in that press conference.

“I’m here as governor to bring the full support of the entire state of Michigan to this community,” Whitmer said. “The state of Michigan has your back.”

Whitmer said she spoke with President Donald Trump regarding the situation and he shared his condolences.

Many local officials applauded the speedy response of law enforcement, which was on scene within thirty seconds from the original 911 call. Just eight minutes after the attack began, the attacker was shot and killed by a Michigan Department of Natural Resources officer and a Grand Blanc Township officer in the parking lot of the church.

No motive has yet been determined, but the investigation continues.

“The FBI is investigating this as an act of targeted violence,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Reuben Coleman, at a press conference on Monday.

The FBI is leading the investigation and deployed over 100 agents to interview witnesses and process the crime scene. Additionally, they are receiving assistance from the ATF, local and state agencies.

According to local authorities, there is no longer a threat to the local community, which is located about 60 miles north of Detroit.

Renye said they also believe that only one attacker was involved. That man was identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford. According to reports, he lived near the church.

Sanford was a 40-year-old veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, who spent time deployed in Iraq. He received multiple military awards and recognitions for his service, according to the military.

Sanford’s father, Thomas Sanford, released a statement to NBC News, stating that the family is shocked at his actions.

“We are completely in shock over this; we have no answers,” the statement said. “We are asking for privacy as we grieve our loss and those of the others.”

Authorities are continuing to investigate the attack and the fire.

James Deir, the special agent in charge of the ATF’s Detroit Field Division said at the press conference that Sanford used a fire accelerant, believed to be gasoline. “Suspected explosive devices” were also found at the scene.