Trump condemns ‘targeted attack on Christians’
US President Donald Trump has condemned a deadly shooting which killed at least two people and wounded several more at a Mormon church in Michigan on Sunday, calling it a “targeted attack on Christians.”
In a Truth Social post following the incident, Trump said the attack was part of an “epidemic of violence” in the US.
“The suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,” he wrote. “THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”
The incident took place at a busy Latter Day Saints church in the town of Grand Blanc, less than half an hour after the service began.
At around 10:25am, a 40-year-old male suspect drove his car through the front doors of the church and opened fire on the congregation with an assault rifle, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said in a press conference.
Officers immediately responded and engaged the shooter, who was killed in the ensuing firefight, Renye said.
“Ten gunshot victims have been transported to local hospitals at this time, including one who has been deceased,” he added. Another victim succumbed to their wounds in hospital, he reported later in the day.
“There was a fire that occurred, and we believe that that was deliberately set by this suspect,” Renye said.
Drone footage of the incident from earlier in the day showed the church’s roof consumed by flames.
According to Renye, authorities expect more victims will be found once the scene is cleared.
Just days earlier, Trump promised to crack down on what he called “radical left terrorism,” following a shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas.
“I will be signing an Executive Order this week to dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks,” he said on Wednesday. “The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped.”
Conservative influencer Kirk was shot dead during one of his ‘Prove Me Wrong’ debate events in a Utah university earlier this month.
