Officials said the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, occurred during a Sunday service that attracted hundreds of congregants.
At least four people have been killed and several others injured in the United States after a gunman stormed a church in the US state of Michigan.
According to police, the gunman drove his car into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Grand Blanc Township before opening fire and setting it ablaze.
Officials said the attack on the church occurred during a Sunday service that attracted hundreds of congregants.
Suspect
The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford from the nearby town of Burton, was later shot dead on Sunday by responding police officers, eight minutes after the first emergency call was made.
Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told a media conference on Sunday evening that two additional bodies had been “discovered in the church”, and that some people remained unaccounted for.
“Hundreds of people were in the building for a Sunday morning service when the alleged gunman, whose motive remains unknown, ran a vehicle into the front door of the church, exited, and opened fire with an assault rifle,” Renye said.
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Accelerant
Fire investigator James Deir, the special agent in charge of the Detroit Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told the same media conference that investigations so far had indicated that the “suspect used an accelerant of some sort, we believe, gasoline, and lit the church on fire”, Al Jazeera reported.
Social media footage showed the church engulfed in flames, which Renye said had been extinguished.
Places of worship
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Sunday’s attack a “tragic act of violence.”
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and concern from so many people around the world. In moments of sorrow and uncertainty, we find strength and comfort through our faith in Jesus Christ. Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved,” it wrote on X.
In his Truth Social post Sunday, Trump wrote: “This epidemic of violence in our country must end, immediately!”
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