Grand Blanc Twp church shooting: Officers who killed shooter acted in self-defense, prosecutor says
Shooter Jacob Sanford's truck
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - The law enforcement officers who shot a man after he shot up a Grand Blanc Township church last year were justified in doing so, the Genesee County prosecutor announced Wednesday.
After reviewing the case, Prosecutor David Leyton declined to charge the Grand Blanc Township police officer and Department of Natural Resources conservation officer who killed gunman Jacob Sanford.
Grand Blanc Township church shooting: 5 dead after shooting, fire at LDS church
Five people are dead, including the shooter, and eight others are hospitalized after a shooting Sunday morning at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, according to police.
The backstory:
On Sept. 28, 2025, Sanford rammed his truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during services before pulling out a rifle.
Sanford, 40, also set the building on fire before he started shooting as hundreds of people worshiped. He killed four people and wounded eight others before being confronted and shot by law enforcement.
The FBI later said that Sanford was motivated by anti-religious beliefs.
What they're saying:
According to Leyton's charging decision report, he reviewed witness statements, body camera footage, and security footage, which all corroborated what happened.
Leyton wrote that when the officers encountered Sanford armed with an AK-47 in the parking lot, they "reasonably believed Sanford to be engaged as an active shooter and suspect of a mass shooting and arson<" and was refusing to drop his weapon.
The prosecutor said Sanford was approaching the officers and a civilian armed with a handgun when the officers both fired shots from rifles, killing him.
"Due to officer (redacted)'s and conservation officer (redacted)'s reasonable fear under these circumstances, they were legally entitled to use deadly force in lawful self-defense or defense of others," Leyton wrote.
The Source: This information is from previous reporting and a memo from Prosecutor David Leyton.