Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Washington (Agenzia Fides) – At least four people were killed and eight others were injured in the attack carried out yesterday, Sunday, September 28, by a gunman at a Mormon temple in Michigan.
The attacker rammed a vehicle through the entrance door of the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
After getting out of the vehicle, the attacker began firing an assault rifle and set the church on fire, killing at least four people and injuring at least eight others before being killed in a shootout with police. Authorities identified the attacker as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, a former US Marine who lived in the nearby town of Burton.
"This appears to be another targeted attack against Christians in the United States," President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social network. "This epidemic of violence in our country must end immediately!" Trump demands. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian denomination, also known as the Mormons.
Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, it recognizes the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture alongside the Bible. Its doctrine is strongly Christian in character, but differs in key points from classical Christianity: For example, not only Jesus, but also, to some extent, God himself, is viewed not as a metaphysical being, but as a glorified, corporeal form who was once human. For this reason, Christian denominations that claim God is a Trinity of three separate persons in a single being find it difficult to recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian community. (Agenzia Fides, 29/9/2025)
