Michigan Church Shooting: Multiple Victims, Church on Fire

At least one person is dead and nine others were wounded, including children, in a mass shooting at a Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan — and many more are feared dead inside after the killer set the house of worship ablaze, police said Sunday.

The full death toll is still unknown, but hundreds of worshippers were inside the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the shooting, and horrifying pictures showed the entire structure engulfed in a raging inferno.

“We do believe there were people up there that were near that fire, and they were unable to get out of the church. So we do believe that we will have additional victims once we’re able to search that,” Grand Blanc Police Chief William Renye told reporters at a press conference.

The gunman, an as-yet-unnamed 40-year-old man from nearby Burton, rammed his truck — which had two large American flags in the bed — through the front doors of the church about 10:25 a.m. and then opened fire with an assault rifle on members of the congregation who came to help him.

He also set the building on fire, and aerial footage showed the entire large building fully engulfed in flames. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known, but CNN reported authorities found a suspicious item on church property they believe could be an improvised explosive device and that a bomb squad was on the scene investigating it.

The killer later died in a gun battle with a Grand Blanc Township police officer and a Department of Natural Resources officer who responded to the shooting, Reyne said.

An unnamed witness told Fox 2 Detroit that the attack started at about just after the congregational hymn, when hundreds of people were inside the building.

Churchgoers reportedly heard a loud bang as the attacker crashed his truck into the church.

“We at first thought someone had accidentally crashed into the church, so we went out to help him,” the man told the local TV station.

Paul Kirby, 38, told the New York Times he saw the man getting out of the truck from about 10-20 yards away before he realized what was happening.

“He started shooting at me,” Kirby said, saying a bullet whizzed through a nearby glass door, clipping his leg with a piece of shrapnel.

He then rushed inside the church to find his wife and two sons before they fled through the back of the church and loaded as many people into their car as they can before speeding away.

“It was the scaredest I’ve ever been,” he told the outlet.

Grand Blanc resident Tony Deck told USA Today that he drove by the church after hearing sirens and saw “at least four yellow canvasses over dead bodies.”

Dramatic aerial footage circulating online showed flames ripping through the church and thick black plumes of smoke rising high in the air over the leafy green Flint suburb.

Authorities directed people on site to a reunification pavilion to the north and said offsite reunification is at the Trillium theater at Holly and McCandlish.

Residents were urged: “PLEASE AVOID THE AREA!!” Further details, including victim conditions, were not immediately released by police.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he had been briefed on the “horrendous” shooting.

“The suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America. The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted that she is “receiving briefings” and that “FBI and ATF agents are en route to the scene now.”

She added, “Such violence at a place of worship is heartbreaking and chilling.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X the bureau is “tracking reports of the horrific shooting and fire at an LDS church,” and that agents are on the scene to assist local authorities.

“Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this terrible tragedy,” he wrote.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement extending her sympathy to the community and condemning the heinous act of violence.

“My heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community. Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly. We will continue to monitor the situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc close,” she wrote.

Anna Matson, a podcaster, posted a video on X showing her at the scene of the shooting. According to Matson, witnesses said an unidentified individual drove a vehicle into the church and started shooting.

One of the victims was a young girl who was shot in the back, according to Matson.

Matson reported that she spoke to someone from South America who recently arrived in the United States and attended a church service on Sunday with his mother.

According to Matson, the person managed to get out of the burning church but his mother remained in the building after the fire started.

“A tragic act of violence occurred today at a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan,” the church wrote in a statement Sunday afternoon.

“During Sunday worship services a gunman opened fire, and early reports indicate that multiple individuals were injured. We ask for cooperation with local authorities as details become available.”