Wonder of this is connected?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/obituaries/russell-m-nelson-dead.html

I grew up in the city of Grand Blanc and had no idea there was a LDS temple in the township. Regardless, this is horrifying. I'm going to be keeping track of the detail updates. I've actually got chills.

George W. Romney, father of Mitt. So it’s likely that LDS churches over there have been around for a while.

He was well respected.

As I recall, that Temple must be in a very rural area. McCandlish Rd was a big farming area. I knew a lot of school friends who lived out that way. It's more 'built up', now, but still far from urban.

Post
Conversation
Governor Gretchen Whitmer
@GovWhitmer
Graphic statement that says the following: My heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community. Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly. We will continue to monitor this situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Grand Blanc close.
11:11 AM · Sep 28, 2025
·
12.8K
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Link to tweet

This just hits too close to my emotional ties with the area.

My understanding is that the meetinghouses are where they have regular Sunday services. A temple is a whole other thing that only members of good standing can use for select ceremonies.

I think the news has been calling it a church.

My brain is absolutely spinning, right now. My niece said she heard that 4 are dead but I haven't seen anything official, yet

When Mormons use the term "church," they are referencing the whole LDS denomination, considered one "church" and headed by a council of twelve apostles and a President, who just died a couple of days ago. A single Mormon ward house usually houses more than one ward, or congregation. In the small town where I grew up, there was just one ward house, but it housed four different local congregations, each made up of about 200-250 members. They have "Wards," or local congregations, and then a cluster of wards in a particular geographic area are formed into a "Stake" which also has a building that houses two or three local congregations.

“Meetinghouse” is what I got when I did a Google search, and I could not recall what I’d heard it called before.

Gunman drove vehicle into Grand Blanc church and opened fire, police chief says

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/church-shooting-fire-michigan-09-28-25#cmg3y61h700003b6n297ydrr0

Link to tweet

3 min ago
Gunman drove vehicle into Grand Blanc church and opened fire, police chief says
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/church-shooting-fire-michigan-09-28-25?t=1759079580933

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

A gunman drove his car into the Church of Jesus Christ-Latter Day Saints and opened fire on congregants during a large service, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye says.

Renye said police have identified the suspect as a 40-year-old man from Burton, Michigan.

“A 40-year-old suspect from Burton, he’s a male, he drove his vehicle through the front doors of the church,” Renye said during a news briefing.

“He then exited his vehicle firing several rounds at individuals within the church,” Renye said.

Where did he get his guns and ammo? That's the next question.

3 min ago
Police believe "additional victims" will be found on scene
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/church-shooting-fire-michigan-09-28-25?t=1759080496076


Grand Blanc Chief of Police William Renye speaks during a news conference on Sunday.
Grand Blanc Chief of Police William Renye speaks during a news conference on Sunday.
WDIV

More victims are expected to be found at the church where today’s shooting and fire occurred, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said.

Renye said the fire has been extinguished and added, “We do believe that we will find additional victims once we have that scene secure.”

My niece said she's hearing/seeing a lot of helicopters. The University of Michigan Hospital is a very short flight. There are Beaumont Hospitals located between Grand Blanc and Detroit, too. Flint has Hurley Hospital, that I am pretty sure has a trauma ward.

My niece said she's hearing/seeing a lot of helicopters. The University of Michigan Hospital is a very short flight. There are Beaumont Hospitals located between Grand Blanc and Detroit, too. Flint has Hurley Hospital, that I am pretty sure has a trauma ward.

Bomb squad assessing suspicious item found on church property, source says

Link to tweet

You can do a google search for it.

Burton, AKA Burtucky, is probably the deepest red area in the county.

BTW, they embrace the name 'Burtucky' and even have a festival named for it. Needless to say, I've never attended. The only time I ever go to Burton is when I have an appointment at Oak Street.

Don't get me wrong - I'm sure there are lots of lovely people in Burton but it's pretty much infested with MAGAts.

Going to the renaissance festival. I heard the name of the man from my friend but we didn’t recognize him (we taught for decades in a school district in Burton)

The man suspected of ramming his truck into a Mormon church in Michigan before entering, shooting, and killing multiple people has been identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, the New York Post reported on Sunday afternoon.

Sanford is a 40-year-old former Marine who served in the Iraq War from 2004 to 2008, according to posts from his mom’s Facebook account.

He is a resident of Burton, Michigan, which is about eight miles from Grand Blanc Township, where the attack happened.

“Social media accounts believed to be connected to Sanford show he’s a family man, with a wife and young son,” the Post reported.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breaking-suspect-identified-shooting-mormon-204305951.html

I mean, these things can be complicated, ya know? Not that an "apparent" extremist MAGA right wing Trumper gun nut would be motivated to take out a Mormon congregation for revenge because Charlie Kirk's assassin was a Mormon, right? We're probably looking at an Antifa operative trying to make this look like a right wing thing just to blame them and make them look bad.

I think we can be sure the media is doing everything it can to make sure this doesn't get associated with that, and so are those who are in position to use their influence to pressure the police investigation.

We can't get facts anymore.

for this attack, and mentioning a tweet from Gov. Abbott’s today that he has directed the TX DPS to form task forces with local law enforcement to protect places of worship.

Not one word about a possible connection to Kirk’s murder.

when righties online have been calling for civil war over Kirk shooting with news reports detailing the Mormon background of Kirk shooter and his friend.

Haven't seen any reports yet to indicate the MAGA nut was settling score for an earlier private grievance with that particular congregation, but for such a serious attack I would hope motivation can be pinpointed more clearly.