Mormon

Sept. 29 (UPI) — Authorities are no longer looking for victims in the shooting at a Michigan church that left four dead and eight injured.

The dead gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine who served in the Iraq War, described Mormons as “the antichrist” to a Burton City Council candidate about one week before the shooting.

During a news conference Monday, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief Bill Renye said authorities have accounted for anyone who attended services Sunday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints about 50 miles north of Ann Arbor.

Sanford, 40, of Burton, Mich., drove a vehicle into the building at about 10:25 a.m. EDT Sunday and opened fire with an assault-type weapon, local police said. Sanford was shot dead in the church’s back parking lot by two police officers.

“We still are in the process of clearing out that church, but at this time, everyone is accounted for,” Renye told reporters.

The injured, who ranged from 6 to 78 years old, were taken to Henry Ford Genesys, and two of them are still in critical condition, according to Dr. Michael Danic, chief of staff at the hospital in Grand Blanc.

Five were treated for wounds, including the person who died, and three others were treated for smoke inhalation, with one still intubated, Danic said. A 6-year-old child was stabilized and released, Danic said.

Police said 10 were injured and two later died.

Danic said several of the hospital’s resident physicians were at the church during the service, describing them as “heroes.”

“Not only were they victims, they are also first responders,” Danic said. “And having your friends and family come in injured and take care of them is a really incredible experience.”

The FBI, which is the lead agency in the investigation, has interviewed more than 100 victims and witnesses, Reuben Coleman, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said.

“The FBI is investigating this as an act of targeted violence, and we are continuing to work to determine a motive,” Coleman said at the news conference.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives dispatced a “world-renowned” specialized rapid response team to investigate, ATF acting special agent in charge James Deir said at the news conference. Team members arrived Sunday night.

“They have been used all over the world, and they come from places as far as California, Hawaii, and they’re here in Michigan now,” Deir said.

Improvised explosive devices were found but investigators are still trying to determine a motive.

“Our special agents, victim specialists, child advocates, forensic interviewers and local partners have interviewed over 100 victims and witnesses to date, and are continuing to interview individuals as we speak,” Coleman said.

The suspect is believed to have ignited the church with gasoline.

“This is not Grand Blanc. This does not define Grand Blanc and who we are,” Renye said during a news conference. “We are a community, and I am confident that together we’re going to build a stronger community due to this incident.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also spoke at the news conference.

“We’ve seen gun violence in our schools, stores, parades, festivals and our houses of worship,” she said. “These are places that we go to feel connected, to feel safe, to be together.

“But today, this place has been shattered by bullets and broken glass. And this might be a familiar pain, but it hurts all the same every time.”

The church was destroyed and a “lifetime of memories is just gone,” Brandt Malone, who has been going to the church for several years, told CNN.

“The hardest thing for our community right now is feeling like that security blanket has been ripped away,” Malone said.

Sanford rammed his pickup truck into the church before shooting congregants with an assault rifle. The building was set on fire, with flames reaching up to 70 feet.

Sanford was a sergeant during Operation Iraqi Freedom, starting in the summer of 2007. He received several medals for his service, a Marine Corps spokesperson told CNN.

He was married and had at least one child. A GoldFundMe page in 2015 said the family needed donations to help pay for a son, who was born with a rare genetic disorder.

Kris Johns, a Burton city council candidate, told the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News that he spoke with Sanford on the campaign trail a few days before the shooting.

Johns recalled Sanford had a tirade against the church and described Mormons, which is the informal name given for members as the Church of Jesus Christ, as “the antichrist.”

“It was very much standard anti-LDS talking points that you would find on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook,” Johns told the Detroit News.

The council candidate recalled to the Free Press “there was no mention of anything right or left, blue or red. He said he saw Trump 2024 sign on the suspect’s fence.

NBC News confirmed an image loaded to Facebook in 2019 showed him wearing a “TRUMP 2020” shirt.

Johns said the man noted struggles with drug addiction.

A survivor at the shooting said there was no security at the church.

“We heard a big bang and the doors flew open,” Paula, who didn’t give her last name, told WXYZ TV. “And then everybody rushed out. We went through the church and through the parking lot … when we got in the cars and flipped around, that’s when the shooter started shooting at the car.”

At least four people have been killed and several others injured after a gunman drove a vehicle into a Michigan church, opened fire and set the building ablaze, police say.

Officials said the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a town 60 miles (100km) northwest of Detroit, happened during a Sunday service that attracted hundreds of people.

The suspect, identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from Burton, Michigan, was later shot dead by police in the church car park.

Authorities are investigating the incident as an “act of targeted violence”, but say the motive remains unclear.

Two victims died from gunshot wounds, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye told a news conference on Sunday.

The fire caused extensive damage to the building and some people remained unaccounted for, Chief Renye said.

Earlier, he said “hundreds” of people were attending services at about 10:25 local time (15:25 GMT) when a gunman drove a vehicle into the building.

The attacker then opened fire with an assault-style rifle, “firing several rounds at individuals within the church,” he said.

The police responded immediately to the scene, he said, adding officers “engaged in gunfire with that particular individual, neutralising that suspect”. He was killed at 10:33 local time, eight minutes after the shooting.

“We are still trying to determine exactly when and where the fire ended up coming from and how it got started,” the police chief said. “We believe it was deliberately set, though, by the suspect.”

Investigators are conducting a search of the suspect’s property and examining his cell-phone records as they work to establish a motive.

The FBI is leading the investigation and has deployed crisis response teams, bomb technicians and others to the scene, according to Reuben Coleman, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office.

Michigan State Police spokeswoman Kim Vetter told reporters that officers have been responding to additional bomb threats at multiple other locations.

“We’ve responded and cleared those locations,” she said.

In a statement, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints confirmed a gunman opened fire during worship services, and “multiple individuals were injured”.

“We pray for peace and healing for all involved,” it said.

Grand Blanc police said that 100 FBI agents have been deployed to assist with the investigation.

President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting, and confirmed the FBI will be leading the federal investigation.

Writing on Truth Social, he described it as “yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America”.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that she had received briefings on “what appears to be a horrific shooting and fire” at the church.

“Such violence at a place of worship is heartbreaking and chilling,” Bondi said. “Please join me in praying for the victims of this terrible tragedy.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer condemned the incident, saying: “Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable,” adding that she was monitoring the situation.

Mitt Romney, former US senator for Utah and one of the most prominent Mormon politicians, called the shooting a “tragedy”, adding: “My brothers and sisters and their church are targets of violence. Praying for healing and comforting.”

ABC has found its newest “Bachelorette” in “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” reality star Taylor Frankie Paul.

Paul, who appeared in the popular Hulu series, revealed her upcoming foray into Bachelor Nation on Wednesday’s episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “It has not hit me. Right now in this moment, I’m just thinking about it and it’s not real,” she told Cooper.

She added: “It’s not real. It’s not going to be until I have the limos [full of suitors] pulling up.”

The 31-year-old #MomTok influencer-turned-reality TV personality breaks a longtime norm for the “Bachelor” franchise. Incoming leads on “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” have historically been contestants from previous seasons. Paul, on the other hand, has not.

Don’t mistake her for a reality TV rookie, though.

Paul was announced as the newest “Bachelorette” a year after “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” became a buzzworthy hit. The series follows a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers who became the subject of social media scandal when Paul announced she and her then-husband had participated in “soft swinging” and were going their separate ways. The series’ debut chronicled the fallout and explored how its young, modern stars navigate the traditionalist culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Speaking to Cooper, Paul said she once thought the “Bachelorette” gig was “unattainable” and shared how she thinks she landed the part. She said she had been open on social media about being single and her fans began making the case for her to become the series’ next star. Ultimately, she received the invitation.

She said she initially hesitated to accept, citing her co-parenting commitments. Paul shares a daughter and son with her ex-husband, and another son with an ex-boyfriend. She explained that she tapped her inner circle to help care for the children, voicing her determination to “make it work.”

Paul is the latest “Mormon Wives” star to cross over to ABC programming. “Dancing With the Stars” announced in July that Paul’s fellow #MomTok-ers Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt would take the dance floor for Season 34. Disney owns both “Mormon Wives” streamer Hulu and “Bachelorette” and “DWTS” home network ABC.

“The Bachelorette” won’t return until 2026, but viewers can catch Paul beforehand when “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Season 3 premieres Nov. 13 on Hulu.

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‘Lots of resentment’

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Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who longs for the expansion of dirty soda chain Swig so we can feel better equipped to deal with #MomTok drama (IYKYK).

It’s been a week since the second season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” dropped on Hulu, but die-hard reality TV watchers have likely already inhaled all nine episodes with the same unwavering commitment as the cast member trying to make us believe that her husband is related to Ben Affleck. (Spoiler alert: He is not. But we sure hope the actor watches while sipping on a 44-ounce iced coffee.) Taylor Frankie Paul, the self-proclaimed founder of #MomTok, the TikTok infuencer group that unites them, stopped by Guest Spot to talk about the new season of friendship and backstabbing.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our resident true-crime expert Lorraine Ali tells you why a docuseries about 1982’s unsolved Tylenol murder case is worth watching, and TV critic Robert Lloyd dives into the pleasures of watching professional surfers chase giant waves. Be sure to also find time to take in Lloyd’s tender tribute to “quintessential Regular Guy” George Wendt, who died this week at age 76; it’s linked below.

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Actor George Wendt, best known for his role as Norm in NBC’s long-running sitcom “Cheers,” holds a glass of beer in a barroom in Los Angeles on June 13, 1983.

(Wally Fong / Associated Press)

Appreciation: George Wendt, quintessential Regular Guy: George Wendt, who died Tuesday, will be most remembered for his character on ‘Cheers,’ whom he played straight and without affectation.

On his travel show, Conan O’Brien is on a treasure hunt for the unexpected: The comedian and host of ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ spoke about the latest season of his Max travel show, his recent Mark Twain Prize and acting in his first feature film.

At this year’s Cannes, bleak is the new black and miserable endings are très chic: On the Croisette, Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ with Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal and a strong directing debut by ‘Babygirl’ star Harris Dickinson grab attention.

Everyone knew Pee-wee Herman. But few knew the man behind the man-child: ‘Pee-wee as Himself,’ a two-part documentary directed by Matt Wolf on HBO, supplies a vivid portrait of Paul Reubens, who receded behind his character.

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Professional big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara in HBO’s “100 Foot Wave.”

(HBO)

“100 Foot Wave” (Max)

The continuing story of big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara, his family and friends becomes a trilogy with the third season of Chris Smith’s great HBO docuseries, crazy to contemplate yet beautiful to behold. Garrett, a maverick who put the Portuguese town of Nazaré on the map for its massive waves, set a record there, surfing a 78-footer — imagine an eight-story office building coming up behind you. But with the spot well-established and many records having been matched, the series has become less about competition than community and compulsion. (A middle-aged adolescent with a seemingly high tolerance for pain, Garrett, despite age and injury, cannot stop surfing.) Back again, with a cast of top big-wave surfers, are charismatic Nicole McNamara, Garrett’s level-headed wife and manager and mother to their three, one might say, “other children,” and her brother C.J. Macias, suffering from surfing PTSD after breaking his arm at Nazaré. The climax of the season is a surfing safari to Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of Southern California, where an undersea island creates huge waves with no land in sight. — Robert Lloyd

A still showing Tylenol pills from the Netflix documentary “Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders.”

(Netflix)

“Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders” (Netflix)

If you’re not ready to switch to Advil, stop reading here. Netflix’s three-part, true-crime docuseries deftly chronicles one of the largest criminal investigations in U.S. history involving the 1982 murder of seven victims in Chicago who died after ingesting Extra Strength Tylenol tablets laced with cyanide. No one was ever charged with their murders.

Directed by Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines (“Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”), the series includes interviews with family of the victims, investigators, police and prosecutors who were directly involved in the case. Together their accounts recall the bizarre and terrifying nature of the crimes, the national panic caused by the tainted pills and the stunning lack of scrutiny on the medication’s manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson.

Private citizen James W. Lewis eventually emerged as one of two main suspects in the case, and he served 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to “stop the killing.” But authorities couldn’t pin the murders on Lewis. The documentary features an exclusive interview with Lewis before his death in July 2023 in which he proclaims his innocence yet appears to still revel in the media attention. The series also calls into question the culpability of Johnson & Johnson and the possibility that the poisoned capsules may have come straight from the factory before landing on drugstore shelves, where they were purchased by the unwitting victims. The murders ultimately led to an overhaul on the safety packaging we see on today’s over-the-counter medication.

Also worth your time is “This is the Zodiac Speaking,” Netflix’s riveting 2024 docuseries chronicling a family of siblings who were intimately involved with the top suspect in the still unsolved Zodiac killings of the 1960s and ‘70s. Sleep tight. — Lorraine Ali

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Mayci Neeley and Taylor Frankie Paul in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

(Fred Hayes / Disney)

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” feels like the new wave of soapy reality TV in the way it builds off social media personas to create ridiculously addictive drama. The Hulu reality series follows the lives of a group “momfluencers” who push against traditional Mormon norms — they’re the breadwinners, some are divorced, many drink, and at least one faced the dilemma of promoting a sex toy brand. Taylor Frankie Paul, the founding member of #MomTok, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss what makes great reality TV versus social media content and the scripted show that reminds her of her life. — Yvonne Villarreal

The women spend a lot of the season saying #MomTok has veered away from what it was initially conceived to be about — women supporting women. How do you think the reality show — this additional layer of sharing your personal life with an audience — has both helped its evolution and threatened its survival?

I think it’s threatened the survival because when you share, you get vulnerable and, unfortunately, when doing so it could eventually be used against you. With that being said, it helps the evolution by doing the same thing — being vulnerable can bring people closer together as well.

What have you learned makes great reality TV and how is that different from what makes great social media content?

What makes great reality TV is sharing as much as you can — both pretty and ugly — so they [followers] can see [the] bigger picture. What makes great social media content is leaving some mystery. It’s ironic that it’s opposite!

Viewers had a strong reaction to how your family engaged with you about your relationship with Dakota, particularly at the family BBQ. What struck you in watching it back?

Watching the scene at my family BBQ made us all cry because my family loves me dearly and the approach was maybe not the best (including myself), but everyone’s emotions were heightened. A lot was happening and all I remember is feeling overwhelming pain. But I do know my family has my best interest [in mind] even if that moment doesn’t show that. I know and that’s all that matters. I don’t like seeing the backlash because they are my village and I love them so much.

I notice that I come off intimidating or harsh, however I’m very soft and forgiving. I typically need to feel safe to show more of that. I feel like I’m always on defense, and I need to give people the benefit of the doubt — not everyone is going to cause pain; in other words, [I need to] open my heart more.

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

My current go-to watch is “Tell Me Lies” [Hulu]. I’m not a reality TV girl, ironically. I’m obsessed with this show. It’s so toxic and so good. It’s a lot like my life, so it’s entertaining to watch someone else’s life.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives returns to screens for a second season this week, taking viewers right back into the world of #MomTok

One of last year’s most viral reality series is back this week as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives returns for a brand-new season. The hit reality series plunges viewers into the world of #MomTok, following a group of mum influencers in Utah’s Mormon community.

During season one, their ‘scandalous’ world imploded when they were caught in the midst of a sex scandal that made international headlines. The eight-part series broke viewership records when it premiered in September, becoming the most-watched unscripted season premiere on Disney+ in its first four days on the platform.

Now it’s back for season two with 10 new episodes available to stream exclusively on Disney+ on Thursday, May 15. The series follows the lives of influencers Taylor Frankie Paul, Demi Engemann, Jen Affleck, Jessi Ngatikaura, Layla Taylor, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews and Whitney Leavitt.

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A lot’s happened since we last saw the group, with Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley and Jen Affleck all announcing their pregnancies. Elsewhere, Taylor took to social media to confirm she is no longer dating Dakota. Season two will see new cast member Miranda McWhorter re-joining the group.

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The official synopsis reads: “The scandalous world of Mormon #MomTok is back and bigger than ever. When an original swinger from their infamous sex scandal makes a surprise return, friendships threaten to unravel as secrets, lies, and allegations explode.

“In a battle for the soul of #MomTok, will betrayal shatter the sisterhood, or will the truth set them free?”

Following the success of season one, Disney+ confirmed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will return for 20 new episodes, suggesting a third season is already in the works. The latest instalment follows the return of Molly-Mae: Behind it All, the Love Island star’s hit docuseries that returned to Prime Video earlier this month.

Disney+ dropped the final trailer for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in April, with fans flooding the comments in anticipation. One fan said: “I’m so ready for this wild new season.” Another said: “Finally, I just watched the entire first season and it was fire. I’m so excited for the new season.”

A third said: “I need this yesterday. ”Not everyone will be tuning in though, as other YouTube comments said ‘Why do people watch this’ and ‘None of the stuff seen in the show is real’. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season two will be available exclusively on Disney+ from May 15.