The community of Grand Blanc Township, Mich., devastated by a deadly shooting on a Latter-day Saints congregation this week, has pulled together to help one another in the aftermath.
Neighborhood children handed out flowers and positive messages. Moms offered free hugs. And donations through multiple fund-raising accounts popped up to cover medical costs for the injured or funeral expenses for the deceased.
One of those donation pages was set up to benefit an unexpected recipient: the family of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the suspect who died in the shooting, which killed four people and injured eight others.
Mr. Sanford, the authorities said, drove a truck into the church meetinghouse during a worship service on Sunday and opened fire with an assault-style weapon, shooting victims as young as 6. He was shot dead by the police, and a fire then consumed the church.
So far, the fund to benefit Mr. Sanford’s family has collected more than $200,000.
The idea to help the shooter’s family was spurred by the religious convictions of the Utah-based writer Dave Butler, 53, also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mr. Butler said he became concerned about who, if anyone, was supporting Mr. Sanford’s wife and child — “two more victims,” as he called them.
Mr. Butler, who is married with three children and knows members of the Grand Blanc congregation, thought of the long road to recovery that Mr. Sanford’s family now faced.
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