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GRAND BLANC, Mich. – The father of the man responsible for driving a truck into a Mormon church in Michigan before opening fire on congregants apologized for his son’s actions on Monday.
The father, Thomas Sanford, told the Detroit Free Press that the situation is a “nightmare.” Neighbors and members of the community in Grand Blanc, Michigan expressed shock and sorrow in interviews with Fox News Digital. Investigators have not determined a specific motive for the shooter, also named Thomas Sanford, as new details emerge about his romantic life and alleged anti-Mormon prejudice.
“I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they’re under the same crap that I’m going under, that my wife and I are going under,” the elder Sanford said. “I apologize for that.”
Sanford added that his son “loved the United States” and was a “family man.”
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“The only thing I can say is that it was my son that did it,” Sanford said. “As far as why? Irrelevant. It happened. We’re dealing with it. It’s been a nightmare.”
Online images of the shooter’s home showed a campaign sign for President Donald Trump on its fence, but the sign was not present when Fox News Digital saw the home on Monday.
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Neighbors of Sanford’s father said they were aware of the attack but didn’t speculate about the man’s motive.
“It’s just awful,” the neighbor said, declining to be named.
Local city council candidate Kris Johns told Fox News that he spoke to Sanford just days before his attack and that the conversation veered toward extreme anti-Mormon rhetoric.
Sanford referred to Mormonism as “the anti-Christ” during their talk, Johns said.
Past acquaintances of Sanford’s say he had no such prejudice earlier in his life. Sandra Winter, who says she was Sanford’s landlady in Utah for roughly 10 months in 2010, said he dated and nearly married a Mormon woman during his time there.
Winter said she knew Sanford well and that he was considering joining the Mormon church in order to further his relationship with the girlfriend. She added that the woman’s family was “pretty gung ho about the idea.”
Despite all this, Winter said Sanford one day abruptly left without explanation.
Another Grand Blanc community member told Fox News Digital that he was at the police academy and watched national media descend on Grand Blanc after the attack.
“You see this stuff happening all over and think it can’t happen here. And then suddenly it does,” he said.
He went on to argue that media coverage of the shooting only adds “fuel to the fire,” by giving notoriety to the attacker. As of Tuesday, at least four people are dead, seven are in stable condition in the wake of Sanford’s attack.
“It’s all about forgiveness,” the Grand Blanc resident told Fox. “I’m not a Mormon but I’m a Christian, and I’m mourning right along with them.”
Several local Christian churches have offered their support to the Mormon community in the wake of Sunday’s attack. Grand Blanc’s The River Church held a prayer service Sunday night, while St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church offered to share its facilities for worship services.
“We are all God’s children,” St. Christopher’s wrote in a statement.
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