Grand Blanc church shooting: What we know about the victims

Two people have died and eight others were wounded when a man crashed into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc during service Sunday, then started shooting before setting the church on fire. 

Police said the suspect first rammed his vehicle through the front doors of the church, got out and began shooting at the parishioners before “deliberately” starting a fire.

The suspect was a 40-year-old man from Burton, a neighboring city of Grand Blanc where the shooting took place. Grand Blanc is about 60 miles north of Detroit. 

RELATED: Grand Blanc church shooting: What’s known about the suspect

Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said the suspect was killed in a shootout with responding officers, and it’s believed the suspect acted alone with an assault rifle. 

What we know about the victims

What we know:

Ten people were shot, police said, and one of the victims died. Nine other victims are hospitalized. The shooter is also dead. 

What they’re saying:

“We do believe we will find some additional victims once we find the area where the fire was,” Renye said at a news conference Sunday. 

What we don’t know:

The victims have not yet been identified, and police said they did not yet have a motive for the fire or shooting.

Authorities also did not provide any additional details about the suspect, including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

What’s next:

“We’re going to do search warrants at the suspect’s residence. We’re going to find out if there was a motive. We’re going to go through cell phone records, things like that,” Renye said. 

Renye said authorities would be providing more information in a scheduled 5 p.m. ET presser on Sunday.

Witnesses heard ‘large bang’

Witness Brian Taylor said churchgoers thought someone had accidentally hit the building at first. He said church started at 10 a.m. and the service was happening when there was a loud noise and a crack in the chapel wall.

“We heard a large, just a large bang,” he said.

Taylor said churchgoers went outside to help, but soon realized it wasn’t an accident. He described seeing a man he did not recognize driving a truck armed with a rifle before the shooting started.

As Taylor and his wife tried to drive away, he said the suspect shot at their vehicle, causing their windshield to shatter. Taylor suffered a hand injury from shrapnel. 

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