Did Hostility Toward the LDS Faith Motivate the Michigan Shooting? | Who was Thomas Jacob Sanford?

Hidden True Crime

True Crime, Society & Culture, News Commentary, Documentary, News

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Sunday morning, a quiet Michigan chapel became the scene of horror. A man crashed his truck into an LDS church, opened fire with an assault-style rifle, and set the building ablaze—leaving multiple worshippers dead and others wounded. Now investigators say explosives were found, and new details are emerging about the suspect’s background, his military past, and his disturbing comments about the church in the days leading up to the attack. In this episode, we walk through the timeline, the investigation, and the community left shattered. About Hidden True Crime What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at⁠ Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Lauren Matthias. This is Hidden True Crime.
0:03.2	On Sunday morning, tragedy struck at a place that was meant to be a refuge from the world's violence,
0:10.6	a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blank Township, Michigan,
0:16.6	became the scene of yet another mass shooting, and we have everything you need to know.
0:22.4	We hear about shootings like this far too often in America, but it feels especially devastating
0:27.5	when they happen inside houses of worship spaces that are supposed to be sacred places
0:32.8	where people gather, to pray, to heal, and to feel safe.
0:37.8	And I'm going to get personal.
0:39.9	An Lias Chapel is where I was every Sunday morning growing up as I was taught about God and Christ.
0:47.1	This story is personal to me.
0:49.1	A church is meant to be holy, a sanctuary from the world, a place of safety, a place that I felt safe in while
0:55.4	growing up. But what unfolded here was an act of evil. And in this episode, we'll walk you
1:01.5	through everything we know so far. Who the suspected shooter is and what authorities are saying
1:07.0	about him, how the attack unfolded, and the possible motives being investigated in this
1:12.2	still developing case. This is not an easy story, but it is an important one. So let's begin
1:19.7	with the timeline. Grand Blank sits just south of Flint, Michigan, the city well known for
1:25.3	its water crisis in 2015. Grand Blank is a suburb of
1:29.6	Flint, a quiet Midwestern suburb dotted with tree-lined streets, modest churches, and small
1:35.5	parks. It's the kind of community where Sunday mornings usually mean families heading to worship
1:40.6	or breakfast. The pace is slower there than in nearby Flint, and on most
1:44.8	days it feels safe, familiar, and unshaken by the kind of violence that makes national headlines.
1:52.3	Sunday, September 28th, hundreds of people ranging from infants to elderly widows were inside
	...

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