GRAND BLANC — Michigan Latter-day Saints church shooter Thomas Sanford had a deranged fixation on the Mormon faith, and was convinced they were going to “take over the world,” according to friends.
Sanford’s unhealthy obsession may have sprung from a soured relationship with an “extremely religious” Mormon woman who pressured him to join the church when he lived in Utah, a former landlord told The New York Times.
“He wasn’t so sure that he wanted to become a member of the church, but he really wanted to be with this woman,” said Sandra Winter, 56, who rented Sanford a room in Jeremy Ranch more than a decade ago.
While he was living in Utah — following a stint as a US Marine including a deployment in Iraq — Sanford got into using methamphetamine, which a childhood best friend said had hardened his formerly affable personality by the time he returned to Michigan.
“Mentally he was in rough shape,” Peter Tersigni told the outlet.
From the time he got back to the Wolverine State, Sanford had developed a strong distaste for the Mormon faith, which he didn’t shy away from expressing to his friends.
“He got this whole fascination with Mormons, and they are the Antichrist, and they are going to take over the world,” Tersigni’s twin brother, Francis, said.
He didn’t put a lid on his anti-Mormon views even at Peter’s wedding.
“All he could talk about was Mormons,” he said. “I was like, dude, nobody wants to hear about this stuff.”
His compulsion for trashing Mormons continued right up until a week before he drove his truck into the Latter-day Saints church in Grand Blanc.
Burton, Michigan city council candidate Kris Johns told The Post he randomly encountered Sanford while canvassing neighborhoods, and that the gunman probed him on his knowledge about Mormons for nearly 15 minutes.
“He was venting. He was going off…The Mormon Bible had additional books. He did not like that at all. He said he’s a Christian and disagrees that they don’t put Jesus first,” Johns said.
“The finer point was, ‘Mormons are the antichrist.’ And he said it like I was asking the time of day. It was the equivalent of leaving a one star review on Google,” Johns said of the calm and casual way in which he spoke.
Sanford also spoke fondly of his 10-year-old son, and asked about Johns’ young daughter, who was in his car at the time.
“For him to be calm, caring, almost expressing true concern, to do a one eighty—I mean, it looks like a missile hit the church. He’s a father. Children do not have fathers because of what he did.”
Less than a week after Johns’ bizarre encounter, Sanford opened fire on worshippers and burned the LDS church to the ground, killing four and wounding eight more.
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