Michigan Church Attacker Is Said to Have Held a Grudge Against Mormons

The former Marine accused of killing four people in a fiery attack on a Michigan church held a deep grudge against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to two lifelong friends and other people who knew him.
The animosity, the friends said, stemmed from a breakup with a religious girlfriend over a decade ago and led the man to rant about the church at his best friend’s wedding, refer to it as the Antichrist and, just days before the attack, spew invective against Mormons to a canvassing politician.
The attacker, identified by the authorities as Thomas Jacob Sanford, crashed a four-door pickup truck displaying two American flags into the church building in Grand Blanc Township near Flint, Mich., during a worship service on Sunday morning, and then opened fire with an assault-style weapon. A blaze later consumed the church.
Victims as young as 6 were ripped by gunshots. Mr. Sanford, 40, was shot dead by the police.
Peter Tersigni, who lives in Michigan, said he had known Mr. Sanford since preschool and called him his best friend. A four-year stint in the Marine Corps, including time in Iraq, changed his friend from the former class clown into a more serious person, Mr. Tersigni said.

Adv