Four people killed, eight injured in shooting at Michigan church
Michigan (The Uttam Hindu) : A shooting incident has been reported from a Michigan church in the United States. Authorities say a man targeted a church in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and set the building on fire. At least four people were killed and eight others injured in the incident.
The incident occurred early Sunday (local time) at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a small community northwest of Detroit. Police said Sunday evening that two more bodies were recovered from the rubble of the burned church, raising the death toll to two. Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Rainey told a press conference that the attacker first drove his car into the church during a prayer service and opened fire on the people present there with an assault rifle, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to a statement issued by the police, former US Marine Thomas Jacob Sanford carried out the attack. However, police killed him in retaliatory fire. According to the police, Jacob, 40, was a former soldier who served in Iraq. Police Chief William Rainey said that the team will investigate the attacker's home and phone records to find out the motive behind the attack. Earlier, the local police had said in a statement that several people were injured in the shooting and the entire church was engulfed in flames. Police have appealed to the public to stay away from the area as emergency rescue operations are underway. Other people, including children, injured in the shooting and arson were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he was briefed on the horrific church shooting. This shooting appears to be another targeted attack on Christians in the United States, and the FBI is on the scene. This epidemic of violence in our country must end immediately. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wrote in a post on the social media platform, "My heart breaks for the Grand Blanc community. Violence anywhere, especially at a place of worship, is unacceptable."