The Michigan church shooter, Thomas Sanford, voiced intense hostility towards Mormons in a conversation with a city council candidate from his hometown just prior to the tragic incident where he burned down a Latter-day Saints church and shot at attendees, referring to the faith as “the antichrist.”
Kris Johns, a 44-year-old candidate for the Burton City Council, recounted to the Detroit Free Press that during his door-to-door campaigning on September 22, he met an unusually cordial Sanford.
The pair engaged in conversation for around 20 minutes, during which Sanford candidly discussed his military service in Iraq and his subsequent battle with addiction when he returned home.
However, Johns noted a significant shift in tone when the topic of religion arose; Sanford shared that he had previously dated someone from a Mormon family while living in Utah.
As the discussion progressed, the council candidate—who has reached out to the Michigan State Police and the FBI since then—described how Sanford bombarded him with inquiries concerning the Mormon faith, including questions about Jesus’s role, church history, and its founder, Joseph Smith.
“His questions were very much aligned with the typical anti-LDS rhetoric you’d encounter on various social media platforms,” he recounted.
Stay updated with The Post’s coverage of the Michigan church shooting
- Thomas Sanford’s mother shared a chilling post about ‘avoiding accountability’ shortly before the shooting.
- Karoline Leavitt suggests the Michigan shooter ‘hated’ Mormons—Trump labels it an ‘attack on Christians.’
- Brave officers arrived within 30 seconds to the Grand Blanc shooting, neutralizing gunman Thomas Sanford in under 8 minutes.
- Iraq War veteran Thomas Sanford identified as the assailant who targeted the Grand Blanc LDS church, resulting in four fatalities and extensive destruction.
“I could never predict what his next inquiry would be,” Johns stated.
Sanford remarked that he considered the Mormon faith to be “the antichrist.”
Johns recalled recognizing Sanford’s face when he started seeing images of him circulating in news reports and on social media.
“Some faces are unforgettable,” he remarked. “This is definitely one of those cases.”
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On Sunday, Sanford, 40, rammed his Chevy Silverado truck into the doorway of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the nearby Grand Blanc before emerging and opening fire on worshippers with an assault weapon. Officials reported that there were several hundred attendees inside the church at the time.
He also ignited a fire that obliterated the church building.
To date, at least four individuals have lost their lives and eight others have suffered injuries; however, authorities have indicated that there may be additional fatalities inside the blazing church.
Johns has yet to respond to The Post’s request for further comments.
