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5 major updates from Michigan church shooting press conference: Victims, suspect and ongoing investigation
Police confirmed that five people were killed and eight others were injured in the Michigan Mormon church mass shooting.
At a press conference on Monday, police shared significant updates regarding the mass shooting that occurred Sunday at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan.
The suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, drove a vehicle through the church’s front doors and opened fire on parishioners using an assault rifle.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer expressed sorrow and solidarity in the wake of the tragedy.
“I'm here as the governor, but I'm also here as a fellow Michigander whose heart is breaking by another mass shooting in a place that is supposed to be defined by togetherness, in a close-knit community here in Grand Blanc,” Whitmer said at the press conference.
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Key updates from authorities
Victims
Police confirmed that five people were killed and eight others were injured in the attack. Of those injured, two remain in critical condition.
All individuals accounted for
Grand Blanc Township Police Chief Bill Renye confirmed that all individuals have been accounted for.
"We still are in the process of clearing out that church, but at this time, everyone is accounted for," Reyne told reporters.
FBI interviewed over 100 people
Within 24 hours of the incident, the FBI had interviewed more than 100 victims and witnesses, according to Reuben Coleman, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office. Interviews are ongoing.
No motive determined yet
Authorities are treating the shooting as an “act of targeted violence,” though a clear motive has not yet been established, Coleman said.
Unrelated arrest near scene
A 21-year-old man was taken into custody after driving a red car through a police barricade near the church on Monday afternoon. The incident occurred late Monday morning and is currently under investigation.
