Police said the perpetrator was identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, a former US marine from the nearby town of Burton. When the incident occurred, Thomas deliberately set fire to the church, which was quickly engulfed in fire and smoke billowed.
According to initial investigation results, the incident killed 2 people and injured 8 others. However, a few hours later, the police discovered at least 2 more bodies in the ashes of the church.
Speaking at the press conference, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said that hundreds of people were present at the church when the incident occurred and that "there were still some people whose whereabouts had not been confirmed".
Two law enforcement officers - one from the state Department of Natural Resources and one from the town of Grand Blanc Township - were dispatched to the scene just 30 seconds after receiving the report.
When arriving, they opened an intense gunfight with suspect Thomas and shot him down in the parking lot about 8 minutes after the incident, according to Reyne.
Investigators will search the private home and phone records of the shooter to find the motive.
US military records show that Sanford served in the Navy from 2004 to 2008 and was an Iraq War veteran.
Coincidentally, another 40-year-old marine veteran who fought in Iraq is also a suspect in a North Carolina shooting that killed three people and injured five others, less than 2 hours before the incident in Michigan.
Police in Southport, North Carolina, accused Nigel Max Edge of firing at a riverside bar from a boat on the evening of September 27 (local time).
Edge was later charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, the police said.
According to court records, a federal lawsuit that Edge filed against the US government and others describes him as a commended marine who suffered multiple serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, during the Iraq war. The lawsuit was later dismissed. The records also show that Edge was previously named Sean William DeBevoise before changing his name.
