Overview

• Investigators say the FBI is interviewing witnesses while the ATF National Response Team conducts forensic analysis of the fire-damaged chapel to determine the blaze’s origin and cause.
• Police identified the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, who drove a pickup into the church, opened fire and set the building on fire; four congregants were killed and eight injured before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers.
• Friends and acquaintances report Sanford voiced long-standing hostility toward Latter-day Saints, including calling Mormons “the Antichrist,” though authorities have not announced an official motive.
• News outlets report records indicating a 2010 DUI arrest in Utah that matches Sanford, as additional reporting details his Marine service and subsequent struggles with methamphetamine.
• Local congregations have tightened security by locking doors and posting volunteers, a GiveSendGo campaign for Sanford’s family has raised more than $90,000, and a senior LDS leader visited victims and the destroyed chapel.