GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered that all public flags across the state of Michigan fly at half staff this week after a shooting and fire at a Grand Blanc-area church that killed four and injured several more.
Flags on public buildings and grounds as well as in the State Capitol Complex are to be lowered immediately and remain that way through Friday, a news release from the governor’s office said.
4 people dead and 8 wounded in a shooting and fire at a Michigan church, police say
The shooting happened at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc Township, where hundreds of people were inside. Police say a man, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, rammed a pickup truck through the front door, got out of the vehicle and opened fire. Investigators believe he “deliberately” set the building on fire, according to police.
Four people were killed and at least eight others were injured, police said. The church burned for hours.
Neighbor describes ‘panic’ during Grand Blanc church shooting, fire
“My heart is breaking for this community,” Whitmer wrote in a news release Sunday night. “Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly. To honor those we have lost, I am ordering flags to be lowered across Michigan. Our state is in mourning alongside the victims, their families, and the entire community in Grand Blanc Township.”
Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations are urged to fly their flags at half-staff as well.
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