GENESEE COUNTY, MI – As he announced the deaths of additional victims in a church shooting and fire, Grand Blanc Township police Chief William Reyne noted acts of heroism when a gunman opened fire on parishioners.

The heroes inside the church attempted to shield children from the danger. He called their actions brave.

The gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, crashed his pickup truck into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on McCandlish Road, during morning services on Sunday, Sept. 28.

He shot churchgoers before using an accelerant, such as gasoline, to ignite a fire that roared from the roof of the now-gutted church. Investigators would not say whether Sanford used an improvised-explosive device to start the fire.

Two people died early on, with eight others injured, one critica

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