Thomas Jacob Sanford has been identified as the suspect in the Michigan church shooting on Sunday that left at least two dead and many injured. Authorities said that the 40-year-old from Burton crashed his vehicle into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, then exited it, and proceeded to fire upon the parishioners.
Details have now emerged that Sanford was a veteran of the Iraq conflict. He had a veteran's license plate as well, as photos of the crashed car at the church showed. While more information continues to emerge about Sanford, and authorities rush to find a motive, an alleged old report has surfaced. It was carried by a local media outlet, Clarkston News, in 2007.
What old report on Thomas Sanford said
The old report, apparently on Sanford, shared details about his life like his graduation from Goodrich High School in 2003. The report said that since graduation, Sanford had been a Marine who did a stint in Okinawa, Japan.
As per the report, Sanford earned honors on the rifle range, getting the rank of sergeant. He was 22 when the report came out. Later in 2007, Sanford was to join the Marine combat battalion in Fallujah, Iraq, the report claimed.
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{{/usCountry}}As per the report, Sanford earned honors on the rifle range, getting the rank of sergeant. He was 22 when the report came out. Later in 2007, Sanford was to join the Marine combat battalion in Fallujah, Iraq, the report claimed.
Also Read | Thomas Sanford family: Details on Grand Blanc church suspect's mother, wife and son emerge
{{/usCountry}}It stated that Sanford was a wrecker driver who helped in the recovery of damaged vehicles. Speaking to Clarkston News, Sanford had said “I’m excited to go. I’m looking forward to seeing the culture and the people of Iraq. I’ll return with the real news of the situation. There are many changes we are making in the Middle East. We are making progress. The citizens of Iraq are beginning to step up.”
As per the report, Sanford comes from a family that has served in the armed forces. His uncle was in the Marines and his grandfather was in the Navy during World War II, it stated.
At the time, Sanford's father, also named Thomas, had told the publication “He’s a homegrown kid who misses his family when he’s gone. Jake’s going voluntarily and plans on returning to this community when his service is over. We are very proud of him.”
Clarkston News is part of the View Newspaper Group, which on LinkedIn calls itself a ‘locally-owned, locally-connected news organization’ with 14 community newspapers. HT.com could not independently verify if the Thomas ‘Jake’ Sanford in the Clarkston News report is the same as the Michigan church shooter.