Michigan Church Shooting: Fundraiser for Accused Shooter’s Family Raises Over $334,000
A fundraiser has been set up to support the family of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the 40-year-old man who allegedly carried out a deadly mass shooting at a Michigan church last weekend. The organizer, David Butler, says he is an “ordinary member” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and wants to help Sanford’s wife and children, who are “grieving” and in need of support.
Sanford, who police identified as the shooter, left behind a wife and children, one of whom has serious medical challenges that require ongoing care and specialized support. Butler wrote that he was motivated to start the fundraiser after realizing that no one had set up support for Sanford’s family. “I went and poked around and couldn’t find that anybody had set up support for the family of Thomas Sanford,” he told CBS News Detroit.
Deadly Church Attack
The deadly church attack in Grand Blanc, Michigan, killed four people and left at least eight others injured. Sanford drove his pickup truck through the front doors of the church, exited his vehicle, and opened fire with an assault-style rifle at around 100 churchgoers, according to Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye. Officials say he then set the church building on fire. Sanford also died following an exchange of fire with police.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the attacker was “an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith.” Despite this, Butler described Sanford’s family as victims of the attack as well, citing the Biblical book of James, which teaches that “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.”
Fundraiser Response
The fundraiser, hosted by GiveSendGo, had raised over $334,000 as of early Friday morning against a stated goal of $500,000. The comments left by those donating money indicate that many are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We have been taught to be peacemakers and pray that your family is blessed and watched over during this difficult time,” one anonymous donor wrote.
Butler said he did not anticipate the response from the community to be as large, saying, “I thought people would support the family. I really thought this would all be pretty quiet. And instead, at the end of the first twelve hours, people had contributed $100,000.” He plans to keep the fundraiser going for another week or longer.
Sanford’s sister, Katie Hamilton, expressed gratitude for the support, saying, “It took my breath away, that this church is so forgiving and understanding and caring.” There are also several fundraisers aiming to help the families of those whose lives were taken or those who suffered injuries in the attack. GoFundMe has launched a verified hub to organize its fundraisers in that vein.
For more information on this story, visit Here
Image Source: www.cbsnews.com
