Victims of Michigan church shooting include a grandfather who was a Navy veteran

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — One of the people killed in the attack on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Michigan was being remembered as a grandfather who adored spending time with his family.

John Bond, a Navy veteran, was among those who died Sunday morning when a Marine veteran smashed his pickup truck into the church and began shooting, according to friends organizing fundraising for the family.

Bond was well-known in the community and loved golfing and trains, said the GoFundMe posting.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the four people who died or the eight people — ages 6 to 78 — who were wounded and expected to survive. Among the wounded were a father and his young son, according to another GoFundMe post.

Federal investigators remained on the scene on Tuesday as heavy machinery began moving debris from the church, which was set ablaze and reduced to rubble during the attack in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Detroit.

Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of the neighboring town of Burton. Investigators have given very few details about him, including what motivated the attack or whether he had any connection to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

Sanford, who was killed while exchanging gunfire with two officers, grew up in a small town not far from the church.

“He was a family man. He was a proud Marine. That was not him doing that,” said Andy Easton, who attended school with Sanford, from kindergarten through high school. “Factually it was — but it was not him. That absolutely came out of left field. I didn’t know he harbored those feelings.”

Jeffrey Schaub, bishop of the Grand Blanc church, said in a video posted Monday that the attack has left the community reeling.

“As you can expect our members are quite shaken in spirit and in body,” he said. “And it hurts.”

There has been an outpouring of support from different faith communities, he said. “It was very humbling to see how much good there is in the world today and that, above all, we are all children of the same Father in heaven,” he said, with a tremor in his voice.

Sanford drove his truck into the church’s brick wall while members were gathered inside Sunday morning. He apparently used gas to start the fire and also had explosive devices, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Flames and smoke poured from the church for hours after the attack.

___

White reported from Detroit. Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; contributed to this report.