40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford rammed a Michigan Church with his vehicle, got out and opened fire with an assault rifle, killing at least four people in the latest mass violence in the country. Officers killed Sanford in the parking lot behind the church. Sanford was not just a crazed gunman as he had a long history of serving in the US Army — he joined the Marine Corps in 2004 and held the titles of organizational automotive mechanic and vehicle recovery operator. In 2007, he started a nearly seven-month deployment under Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Motive not established, mother’s eerie post surfaces
Thomas Sanford’s mom, Brenda Walters-Sanford, posted the eerie message on Facebook before Sunday’s carnage at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc Township, according to screenshots circulating online.“Talking to someone who constantly avoids accountability is not a real conversation – it’s a battle. It’s a cycle of deflection, projection, twisting, and playing the victim,” the post on her since-deleted account said. “When I try to express how your actions have hurt me, you don’t listen with the intention of understanding; you listen with the intention of defending yourself. That’s not communication — that’s self-preservation of your ego.”“I don’t owe my peace to someone who only wants to win an argument, not to understand my heart. My energy is not a prize for someone committed to misunderstanding me. At some point, you have to value yourself enough to stop begging someone to hear you,” the post read.The context of the post is not clear.
White House says Sanford hated people of the Mormon faith
While the motive of the attack is not clear, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday indicated the gunman “hated people of the Mormon faith.” “From what I understand based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” Leavitt told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “They are trying to understand more about this: How premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note.”
A Trump supporter; message for Charlie Kirk
Sanford was a Trump supporter as he was seen wearing a Trump 2020 shirt in an old photo. His mother was also a red supporter and shared a social media post on Charlie Kirk’s birthday on October 14. The post urged everyone to wear Red on Kirk’s birthday.
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