Mormon church gunman was marine ‘who supported Trump’
Iona Cleave Mon, September 29, 2025, 5:16 PM GMT+8
摩门教教堂枪击案凶手为前海军陆战队员,曾支持特朗普
 

Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, killed at least four people on Sunday after attacking a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan
40 岁的托马斯・雅各布・桑福德周日在密歇根州格兰德布兰克镇袭击一座摩门教教堂,造成至少 4 人死亡。
 
The gunman who rammed his truck into a Mormon church and opened fire on worshippers was an Iraq war veteran who had previously shown support for Donald Trump.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from suburban Michigan, killed at least four people in the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday.
Police are still combing through the wreckage after he set the building ablaze.
 
这名驾车撞击摩门教教堂并向礼拜者开枪的凶手,是一名伊拉克战争老兵,此前曾表现出对特朗普的支持。
40 岁的托马斯・雅各布・桑福德来自密歇根州郊区,周日在格兰德布兰克镇袭击 “耶稣基督后期圣徒教会”(注:摩门教正式名称),造成至少 4 人死亡。凶手纵火焚烧教堂后,警方目前仍在废墟中进行细致搜查。
 
The ex-marine was killed by police after he shot at least 10 people with an assault rifle in what the FBI described as an “act of targeted violence”. Authorities have yet to provide a motive.
Sanford, who also went by the name of Jake, graduated from a nearby high school in 2004 before joining the Marine Corps.
His recent political views remain unclear, but he was seen wearing a camouflage Trump 2020 campaign shirt, emblazoned with the words Make Liberals Cry Again, in a picture posted on social media in 2019.
An image of Sanford’s home, taken on Google Street View in June, showed a Trump-Pence sign attached to his garden fence.
 
这名前海军陆战队员使用突击步枪射击,造成至少 10 人中弹,美国联邦调查局(FBI)将此次事件定性为 “针对性暴力行为”,他最终被警方击毙。目前有关部门尚未公布其作案动机。
桑福德又名杰克,2004 年从附近一所高中毕业,随后加入美国海军陆战队。
他近期的政治立场尚不清楚,但 2019 年社交媒体上发布的一张照片显示,他身穿一件迷彩风格的 “特朗普 2020 年竞选” T 恤,上面印有 “让自由派再哭一次”(Make Liberals Cry Again)的字样。
此外,6 月谷歌街景拍摄的桑福德家照片显示,在他家花园围栏上挂着 “特朗普 - 彭斯” 竞选标语牌。
 
A vehicle that was rammed into the building is surrounded by smoke
Sanford rammed his pick-up truck into the church before firing at worshippers - Lukas Katilius/The Flint Journal
桑福德驾驶的皮卡撞击教堂后向礼拜者开枪
 
Other images showed him to be an avid hunter, posing with killed deer and other game in the back of a silver truck that appeared similar to the one used to storm the church.
In 2016, he married a woman who had gone to the same high school, and they had a son.
According to a GoFundMe page from 2015, the family appealed for donations to help pay for the medical care of their son, now 10, who was born with congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare genetic disorder in which the pancreas releases too much insulin, forcing numerous surgeries and hospital stays.
 
其他照片显示,桑福德是一名狂热的猎手,他曾在一辆银色卡车后斗里与猎杀的鹿及其他猎物合影,这辆卡车看起来与他冲击教堂时使用的车辆相似。
2016 年,桑福德与一名同校同学结婚,两人育有一子。
根据 2015 年 “GoFundMe”(众筹平台)上的一则信息,桑福德一家当时发起众筹,为自己孩子筹集医疗费用。如今这个孩子已 10 岁,出生时患有 “先天性高胰岛素血症”—— 这是一种罕见的遗传性疾病,患者胰腺会分泌过多胰岛素,需接受多次手术并长期住院治疗。
 
“Don’t ever take having healthy kids for granted,” Sanford was quoted as saying in a local news article. “We are proud of our child. I spent four years in the Marine Corps and was in Iraq, and this is still the most unique thing to deal with.”
Ryan Lopez, a former classmate from Goodrich High School – 12 miles from the shooting site – said he had seen Sanford two weeks earlier at the gym, when nothing had seemed out of the ordinary.
“He was happy to see me, he just seemed normal,” Mr Lopez told The New York Times.
 
当地一篇新闻报道援引桑福德的话说:“永远不要把拥有健康的孩子视为理所当然。我们为自己的孩子感到骄傲。我在海军陆战队服役了 4 年,也去过伊拉克,但眼下这件事(孩子的病情)仍是最棘手的挑战。”
瑞安・洛佩兹是桑福德在古德里奇高中的前同学,该校距离枪击案现场约19 公里。他表示,两周前还在健身房见过桑福德,当时对方并无异常。
洛佩兹对《纽约时报》说:“他见到我很开心,看起来和平时没两样。”
 
Joanne Green of Fenton, 75, top right, and McKenna Harrington of Davison, 25, second from right, comfort Katelyn Kruse of Fenton, 26, center, after Kruse was present at the scene of a shooting and structure fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 
On Sunday, a bomb squad deployed a robot, a drone and a tank-like vehicle outside Sanford’s home, while a police helicopter circled overhead. It is unclear if anything was found.
A neighbour, Randy Thronson, said Sanford would clear the snow off driveways to help locals in the winter, but that they had not spoken in two years, adding: “He seemed like a nice guy. Something must have happened, snapped somehow.”
Sanford served in the marines for four years, rising to the rank of sergeant and receiving several medals. He was deployed to Iraq for seven months between 2007 and 2008 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
 
周日,拆弹小组在桑福德家外部署了机器人、无人机和一辆坦克式车辆,同时有警方直升机在上空盘旋。目前尚不清楚是否发现了可疑物品。
邻居兰迪・思朗森表示,桑福德在冬天会帮当地人清理车道上的积雪,但两人已有两年没说过话。他补充道:“他以前看起来是个好人,肯定是发生了什么事,让他突然失控了。”
桑福德在海军陆战队服役 4 年,军衔升至中士,并获得多枚勋章。2007 年至 2008 年间,他作为 “伊拉克自由行动” 的一部分,在伊拉克驻扎了 7 个月
 
While serving, he specialised in handling military vehicle equipment. He left the corps a few months after his deployment.
After the military, he appeared to have a series of different jobs including landscaping, snow removal and working as a truck driver for Coca Cola.
Investigators said it could take a while to determine why the proud American and family man had carried out the attack on the Mormon church. “We can’t come to those kinds of conclusions for some time,” Lt. Kim Vetter, of Michigan State Police, said on Sunday.
 
服役期间,他专攻军用车辆装备操作与维护,部署任务结束数月后便退伍。
退伍后,桑福德从事过多种工作,包括园林绿化、除雪,还曾在可口可乐公司担任卡车司机。
调查人员表示,目前尚无法确定这位 “爱国的美国人” 兼 “顾家男人” 为何要袭击摩门教教堂,相关调查需要一段时间。密歇根州警察局的金・维特中尉周日表示:“短期内我们无法得出这类结论。”
 
Investigators said it could take a while to determine why the proud American and family man had carried out the attack on the Mormon church
Investigators said it could take a while to determine why the proud American and family man had carried out the attack on the Mormon church - David Guralnick/Detroit News
调查人员表示,尚需时日才能确定这位爱国且顾家的美国人为何袭击摩门教教堂
 
Sanford drove a pickup truck with two US flags strapped to its back into the side of the church at 10.25am local time.
He opened fire on the congregation during the Sunday service in the Flint suburb, police said. The gunman was killed eight minutes later by police in a gunfight in the church’s car park.
 
当地时间上午 10 点 25 分,桑福德驾驶一辆后斗绑着两面美国国旗的皮卡车,撞向教堂侧面。
警方称,在弗林特市郊区的这场周日礼拜中,他向会众开枪。8 分钟后,这名凶手在教堂停车场的交火中被警方击毙。
 
Two people were killed from gunshot wounds, and two bodies were later recovered from the debris of the burned-down church. Eight were wounded, one of whom was in critical condition.
Authorities said the attacker used an accelerant, believed to be gasoline, and set fire to the church deliberately. Some suspected explosive devices were found but it was unclear whether they were used to start the fire, they added.
 
此次袭击中,2 人死于枪伤,另有 2 具遗体随后从被烧毁的教堂废墟中找到。8 人受伤,其中 1 人情况危急。
相关部门表示,袭击者使用了一种助燃剂(据信是汽油),蓄意纵火焚烧教堂。他们还补充称,现场发现了一些疑似爆炸装置,但目前尚不清楚这些装置是否被用于纵火。
 

 
After the killing, Mr Trump demanded that the “epidemic of violence in our country must end, immediately”.
Sunday’s attack came after a series of high-profile shootings, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Right-wing activist, in Utah and a shooting at a Texas immigration facility last week.
Political divisions have grown deeper in the wake of the attacks, with Mr Trump launching a campaign targeting Left-wing groups he has accused of being “domestic terrorists”.
 
枪击案发生后,特朗普要求 “国内暴力泛滥必须立即停止”。
此次周日袭击发生前,美国已发生多起备受关注的枪击事件,包括右翼活动人士查理・柯克在犹他州遇刺,以及上周得克萨斯州一处移民机构发生的枪击案。
这些袭击事件加剧了美国的政治分裂,特朗普已发起一场针对左翼团体的行动,称这些团体为 “国内恐怖分子”。
 
Last month, a mass shooting took place at a Catholic church and school in Minnesota, in which two children were killed while attending Mass, and several others were severely wounded.
Founded in 1830, the Mormon church, based in the western US state of Utah, considers itself a Christian body but bases its doctrines on the Book of Mormon, a text its followers say contains a fuller version of the words of Jesus Christ than that recorded in the Bible.
There are Mormon churches all over the world, with 17 million members globally.
 
上个月,明尼苏达州一座天主教教堂及附属学校发生大规模枪击案,两名儿童在参加弥撒时遇难,另有数人受重伤。
摩门教(耶稣基督后期圣徒教会)成立于 1830 年,总部位于美国西部的犹他州。该教会自视为基督教团体,但其教义以《摩门经》为核心 —— 教会信徒称,这部经典记载的耶稣基督言论,比《圣经》中的记载更完整。
目前全球摩门教信徒约达 1700 万。