Elite ATF team joins federal response to Mormon church attack

Robert Snell, The Detroit News on Sep 29, 2025

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A team of investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived Monday at the scene of a fiery attack one day earlier at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, that left at least four people dead, plus the alleged gunman.

The ATF National Response Team is part of a broader federal response that includes assistance from as many as 100 FBI agents who responded to the attack at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Police say 10 people were shot during the attack. Two died and two other bodies were later discovered in the remains of a fire.

The team will lead the fire investigation, analyzing, processing and documenting the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

The ATF team includes investigative experts with state-of-the-art equipment who specialize in fire, explosives and bombing investigations. James Deir, special agent in charge of the ATF's Detroit Field Division, said at the Sunday night press conference that some suspected explosive devices were located near the church, but he said he could not say whether they were used to start the blaze.

Investigators believe the alleged gunman, Thomas Sanford, used gasoline to light the church on fire.

In a Monday press conference, Deir said the team arrived Sunday night and has begun examining the scene.

The team is also investigating improvised explosive devices recovered from the scene, Deir said.

On Sunday night, Deir said investigators believed the fire was largely started by accelerant, specifically gasoline, but acknowledged there were explosive devices found as well. He asked the community not to travel by the church.

“We need that scene security for our investigators as they dig out this scene,” Deir said.

The team has been deployed 19 times this year and 938 times nationwide since 1978. That includes high-profile investigations after the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing carried out by terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

The federal investigators join a broader law enforcement response that on Sunday included the Michigan State Police bomb squad. The squad deployed a silver 3-foot robot and hauled in heavy equipment to the area near Sanford's home in Burton.

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(Detroit News staff writer Beth LeBlanc contributed to this story.)

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