Two days before the massacre at a Mormon church in Michigan, the mother of suspected shooter Thomas Jacob Sanford shared a cryptic Facebook post criticizing someone in her life for refusing to take “accountability” and for always twisting situations.
Reports from the New York Post and Daily Mail identified the now-deleted account as belonging to Sanford’s mother, Brenda. It remains unclear who the post referred to. The words were not originally hers but part of a widely circulated meme on social media since August.
Police identified Sanford, 40, as the man who killed four people and injured at least eight others during Sunday morning services at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc.
The post read in part: “People lack accountability, then say, ‘you could’ve talked to me.’ No, I couldn’t. Because talking to you isn’t really a conversation… You don’t listen to understand, you listen to reply. You deflect the moment any responsibility comes near you… Conversations with you don’t heal, they hurt. They don’t resolve, they escalate.”
Authorities said Sanford rammed his pickup truck through the church doors, opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, and set the building on fire before police shot and killed him during a gunfight.
Sanford, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and rose to the rank of sergeant, had previously raised money for his son, who suffers from congenital hyperinsulinism.
While his motives remain unclear, a local political candidate told the Detroit Free Press that Sanford had ranted about Mormons being “the antichrist.”
Facebook posts and photos also suggested he supported Donald Trump and opposed Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccines.
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