A fundraiser for relatives of Michigan church shooter Thomas Jacob Sanford has amassed nearly $200,000 — including donations from Mormons who extolled no barriers for compassion and empathy.
The online campaign created for family of Sanford, a 40-year-old former Marine who was killed by police at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc, cites the “financial hardship and psychological trauma” in the wake of Sunday’s attack.
“Sanford leaves behind a wife and children who must be grieving,” the GiveSendGo fundraiser reads. “On top of that, one of the Sanford [son’s] deals with serious medical challenges that require ongoing care, treatment, and specialized support. In the past, the family attempted to raise funds for him, but with limited success.”
The fundraiser, which eclipsed $189,000 as of midday Wednesday, was launched by David Butler, an “ordinary member” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with no connections to the Sanford family or Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint, Michigan.
“Every donation will go to help provide for the Sanford family daily needs, provide for ongoing medical treatment, and create some stability in a time of heartbreak and upheaval,” Butler wrote. “Thank you for your kindness, your compassion, and your willingness to lift up those who are suffering.”
A family from California donated $5,000 to the cause while citing the Book of Mosiah, and several anonymous donors, including members of the Mormon church, shared messages of goodwill from across the country.
“May God bless your family with healing, hope, and reasons to rejoice even amid the pain,” a churchgoer from Texas wrote. “God loves you, is aware of you, and sincerely wants to bless you. This I know.”
Another donor who gave $1,000 addressed Sanford’s family directly.
“As a community, as humans, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we grieve for your immediate loss, and we wish to share in supporting you as you shoulder the heavy weight of life in the aftermath,” the fundraiser reads. “We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While we haven’t met, we are now connected, and we love your family, and pray for strength and courage as you heal.”
Attempts to reach Sanford’s family, including his wife, were unsuccessful early Wednesday. His father, Thomas Sanford, has apologized to relatives of the four people who were killed and eight others wounded in the attack on Sunday.
“I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they’re under the same crap that I’m going under, that my wife and I are going under,” the elder Sanford told the Detroit Free Press. “I apologize for that.”
Sanford, 71, spoke briefly to the newspaper Monday, characterizing his son as a former Marine who served in Iraq.
“He loved the United States; he loved his family,” Sanford told newspaper. “He was a good man. He was a family man.”
Sanford refused to speculate on what possibly motivated his son to target the church, but acknowledged he had been responsible for the onslaught.
“The only thing I can say is that it was my son that did it,” Sanford said. “As far as why? Irrelevant. It happened. We’re dealing with it. It’s been a nightmare.”
Peter Tersigni, a close friend of Sanford’s family, told CNN he had resented the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following a breakup with a girlfriend more than a decade ago.
“He had the need to express and let us know, ‘Hey, Mormons are bad, Mormons are the antichrist,'” Tersigni told the network.
Sanford had a relationship with a woman in the LDS church while living briefly in Utah, where he was heavily abusing drugs at the time, Tersigni said.
The former Marine then returned to Michigan when the relationship ended and he frequently discussed his disdain for the Mormon church, CNN reported.
“It didn’t go down a good path,” Tersigni concluded.
Sanford, who lived in Burton, began behaving erratically in recent weeks. In separate incidents, he nearly ran over a friend with his truck and openly declared his hatred for the LDS church, residents told CNN.
A spokesman for the Church of Latter-day Saints did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
Sanford is survived by his wife Tella and a son who was born in 2015 with congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare genetic disorder, NBC News reported.
“He loved his son,” Sanford’s former colleague, Garry Reynolds Jr., told the network. “He loved that boy.”
Sanford’s father, meanwhile, has asked for privacy as his continues to process Sunday’s massacre.
“We are completely in shock over this,” he told NBC News in a statement. “We have no answers.”
