Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Multiple People Dead: Man Opens Fire at a Michigan Church Then Sets It Ablaze | Crime Alert 6AM 09.29.25

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

A mass shooting incident at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, resulted in the deaths of at least four individuals and left eight others injured.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert. I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking Crime News now. Straight out to Nicole Parton for the latest. Nancy, we start off with breaking news after a deadly mass shooting at a church. Authorities in Michigan have identified 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford from Burton, Michigan, as the man responsible for a tragic incident that left four people dead and eight others injured. The event occurred when Sanford drove a pickup truck into a church in central Michigan. and opened fire. During a news conference on September 28, officials reported that one of the injured individuals is in critical condition, while seven others are stable. The violence scene unfolded at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blank of Flint suburb around

1025 a.m. on Sunday when Sanford crashed his vehicle into the building. After exiting the truck, he unleashed several rounds from an assault rifle. at those inside. This, as stated by the Grand Blank Township, Police Chief William Reney. Authorities also revealed that Sanford then used gasoline to ignite the church on fire. I have a couple updates for you. There is a couple additional bodies that we've discovered in the church. So that makes our total victim count up to four victims. As I said before, there has already been the suspect to his deceased this well. So we have five deceased persons from this tragic incident. Sanford ultimately died after a gunfight with responding officers in the church's parking lot. The investigation is being spearheaded

by the FBI with acting special agent in charge of the Detroit field Ruben Coleman, characterizing the incident as an act of targeted violence. However, he did not disclose any potential motives behind Sanford's attack. There were several hundred people in attendance that day, and now authorities say the church is a complete loss after the blaze. Coleman urged anyone with relevant information to come forward directing all of them to call 1-800 FBI tips. Burton, the suspect's hometown, is located approximately eight miles north of Grand Blank. Locally, Sanford was often referred to as Jake by friends and family members, as indicated by various records and news articles. On Sunday night, law enforcement was heavily present outside the man's residence, this

as reported by the Detroit Free Press. His mother's Facebook post suggests that he may have been a U.S. Marine veteran, having served in Japan and Iraq after graduating from high school in 2003, this according to a 2007 article from the Clarkston News. Sanford appeared to enjoy outdoor activities, particularly hunting and fishing, as evidenced by photos on social media, including photos of his girlfriend and mother. These images depict him in camouflage, often carrying guns and hunting deer and catching fish. Police say the motive behind this tragic incident has yet to be uncovered. The investigation is ongoing. Nicole, thank you. More Crime and Justice News after this. And now to North Carolina, at least three people have lost their lives and eight more have been wounded following a shooting incident involving a gunman on a boat at a waterfront bar.

The Southport Police Department reported they received emergency calls about shots fired with multiple injuries at the American Fish Company around 9.30 p.m. local time, according to police reports, a boat with a lone man traveling on the Cape Fear River. stopped momentarily near the bar and opened fire from the water, resulting in the death of three people and injuring at least eight others. The assailant then fled the scene, heading towards the intercoastal waterway in the direction of Oak Island. The police issued a warning on Facebook regarding an active shooter in the Southport Yacht Basin advising residents to stay indoors. About 30 minutes after the shooting, the U.S. Coast Guard located the suspect who was loading their boat at a public boat ramp. This according to a police news release, the suspect was taken into custody for questioning by the Oak Island Police Department. Authorities later named the suspect as

Nigel Max Edge. In a press release, police announced that he had been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear. Donna Cloud 19 moves in with her dad, Splendora, Texas. It's a northeast suburb of Houston. Their relationship is strained. They argue often.

One night, she doesn't come home. Dad reports her missing telling police his daughter left on a blind date with a guy she met online. Cops later learned, that's a lie. And Donna's father actually told her to leave after their last argument. Two men pick up Donna from the dad's home. One says he drops Donna off safely at a hotel that evening. Donna's active online two days after her disappearance. But her phone pings for the last time in Houston's West Chase neighborhood.

That's the southwest side of the city. Donna Cloud, 5-1, 110 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. She's got a tattoo of a diamond on her right ring finger, and the word faith tattooed on her right forearm. If you have info on Donna Cloud, now missing eight years, call Montgomery County, Texas sheriffs, 936-760, 5800. For the latest, Crime and Justice News, go to crimeonline.com, and please join us for our daily podcast, crime stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children,

and help solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an IHeart podcast.