A fundraiser for the family of the ex-Marine accused of waging a deadly attack on a Mormon church in Michigan on Sunday had collected more than $300,000 as of Thursday evening.
The money isn’t to reward Thomas Jacob Sanford for fatally shooting two people, wounding at least eight more and setting a fire that ultimately claimed the lives of two other worshippers at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
According to the man who launched the fundraiser, it’s to help the loved ones that the 40-year-old suspect left behind when he was shot dead during a gunfight with police.
“Multiple families were left grievously wounded and in need of help,” LDS member and author Dave Butler wrote on a GiveSendGo page soliciting donations. “One of the families that suffered a terrible loss on that day was the family of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the shooter.”
Butler writes that Sanford’s wife and children are surely mourning the loss of their patriarch and dealing with financial hardship and psychological trauma as a result of his actions.
One of those children was treated in 2016 for a rare medical condition that can cause brain complications and requires ongoing care and specialized support.
Butler said he has no connection to the Sanford family or the Michigan community affected by the attack. Instead, he calls himself an “ordinary member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” and said he believes helping Sanford’s family is the right thing to do.
“Thank you for your kindness, your compassion and your willingness to lift up those who are suffering,” he ended his message.
Police have released few details about Sanford and have not yet discussed a possible motive for the attack. However, people who knew him described as a man who struggled with substance abuse after leaving the Marines and long harbored hatred toward Mormons.
One Michigan man who spoke to Sanford while campaigning for city council said he had launched into an anti-Mormon tirade, saying he believed they are “the antichrist.”
