4 killed, 8 injured in shooting & arson at church in US’ Michigan

The toll in Sunday’s attack at a church in the American state of Michigan has risen to four dead and eight injured, according to officials.

A man on Sunday morning rammed a vehicle into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. He then opened fire at worshippers and set the building on fire. He was killed in a confrontation with the police.

Visuals from the site showed the church engulfed in flames. By the press time, officials had not cleared the scene and there was a possibility that more bodies could be found inside the church. Officials also said that they were not sure how many people remained unaccounted at the moment.

Officials identified the attacker as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of nearby Burton, who had served in the Marine Corps and had deployed to Iraq. They did not assign any motive to his actions.

The attack at the Michigan church has come at a time when political violence and hate crimes are on the rise in the United States. Critics have said that President Donald Trump’s patronage of far-right and White supremacist groups have fuelled the wave of violence plaguing the country.

Church completely burnt down from fire

Officials said that the church has been completely burnt down from the fire caused by an accelerant and possibly bombs

The church is a “total loss due to the fire”, said Grand Blanc Township police chief William Renye, as per The New York Times.

A federal investigator said the fire appeared to have been set with “an accelerant of some sort”, possibly gasoline, and that three “rudimentary” explosive devices had been found at the scene, as per The Times.

Of the four dead, at least two died from gunshot wounds, said Renye.

Of the eight people injured in the attack, one was critical as of Sunday evening and the rest were stable, said Renye.

As for three rudimentary bombs found at the site, James Deir of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), said the attacker might have planned to ignite a fire with the devices but noted that it was unclear if another, similar device was used to start the fire at the church.