‘A big bang, then doors flew open’: Eyewitnesses recall Michigan shooting horror

Michigan church shooting: Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene immediately, engaged the shooter in a gunfire and shot him dead in the parking lot.

Michigan shooting: At least four people were killed, and several other deaths are likely, as a former US Marine rammed his pickup truck through the front doors of a Mormon church in Michigan on Sunday, opened fire with an assault rifle and deliberately set the chapel ablaze.

Michigan shooting: Witnesses also tried to save the children who were present in the Church during the attack on Sunday. (AP)

Smoke billowed from the church as flames engulfed the entire building.

At least eight others were injured in the shooting. Police officials said that hundreds of people were present in the church when the ex-Marine, Thomas Jacob Sanford, set it on fire.

Two law enforcement officers, one each from the Grand Blanc Township and the Department of Natural Resources, immediately arrived at the scene and engaged the suspect in an exchange of gunfire, shooting him dead in the parking lot.

‘A big bang, then doors flew open’

Visitors at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc had gathered to grieve the death of its leader, President Russell M. Nelson, who had died the day before. They congregated in the church for the weekly 10 am service.

Twenty minutes later, Sanford rammed his four-door pickup truck through the front doors of the chapel. Worshippers had just gotten through the first half of the two-hour-long service when the suspect opened fire.

"We heard a big bang and the doors flew open," Paula, a woman who was at the church house, told CNN affiliate WXYZ.

With a blood-stained shirt, Brian, another churchgoer, said he was trying to help some of the elderly women get into his car when he was injured in the firing. Brian said that his right hand was wrapped in gauze, adding that he was likely injured when Sanford opened fire on their vehicle.

"We were trying to gather as many people as we could. I saw the active shooter come out of the building, and at that point, I just started trying to drive away," he said.

Meanwhile, Paula said that she couldn't see the shooter and didn't know whether Sanford entered the church. She termed the moment surreal and said, "I didn't know if we had to get down, because we couldn't see anybody."

Children were also present in the church, with Paula saying that some of the primary children she taught on Sundays were hurt, CNN reported.

Paula, who joined the Grand Blanc church 38 years ago, had also brought a friend for the service. "It's devastating to know I lost friends," she said.

Search on for bodies

Grand Blanch Township Police Chief William Renye told a press briefing that some victims are "unaccounted for", adding that hundreds of people were in the church when Sanford drove into the building.

The former US Marine, Thomas Jacob Sanford, reportedly used an accelerant, believed to be gasoline, and set the church on fire "deliberately".

The rear of the attacker's truck also had two US flags on poles.

Renye said on Sunday evening that authorities were still combing through the chapel's debris and "working tirelessly to find additional bodies".

In Pics | Smoke, tears, tributes: Photos show aftermath of deadly Michigan Mormon church shooting

FBI special agent Reuben Coleman said that the agency was now leading the investigation, adding that the attack was being probed as "an act of targeted violence".

US President Donald Trump called the incident "horrendous" and echoed that it appeared to "be yet another targeted attack on the Christians in the United States of America". He further said, “THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”

The LDS church called Sunday's attack a "tragic act of violence".

"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.