GRAND BLANC, Mich. (WXYZ) — As the community continues to support victims of the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, one man has launched an unexpected campaign to help the suspect's family.
David Butler, an author based in Utah and member of the LDS church, started a fundraiser for Thomas Sanford's family after learning of the deadly attack. The campaign has raised roughly $300,000 as of Thursday evening.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report below:
Butler said his motivation comes from his Christian faith and the belief that Sanford's family are also victims of the tragedy.
"One hundred percent — what this is about is the teachings of Jesus Christ. That is absolutely right. On the gifts and go, I quote the epistle of James: Care for the widow and the orphan. This is pure religion and undefiled, right? It's literally what I'm trying to do. But yes, love your enemies, right? Do good for those that hurt you," Butler said.
Butler emphasized that Sanford's family lost more than just the man who committed the attack.
"They didn't lose the crazy man who slammed his truck into the church and threw gasoline on it and shot people when they came out — was not what they lost. They lost the dad who went to work for the family, right, and who showed up for the Little League games," Butler said.
Butler said he has spoken with a representative of the Sanford family, describing an emotional conversation.
"And I will tell you this, I've spoken to the Sanford family, to a representative of the family yesterday and she cried a lot and I cried a lot, and one of the things she said is I can't tell you how grateful we are. We talked about the money, but it wasn't the money. I can't tell you how grateful we are for the messages of support," Butler said.
Previous coverage: Church leaders reflect on deadly attack in Grand Blanc Township, community support
The attack has also affected The River Church, which had an encounter with Sanford a week before the tragedy in Grand Blanc Township.
Pastor Caleb Combs said Sanford visited their Goodrich location seeking to have his child baptized.
"Yeah, so he wanted to have his child baptized. We have a policy. We don't require a class for someone to be baptized; we require a conversation," Combs said.
Watch our report about the encounter at The River Church in the video player below:
The conversation led church leaders to delay the baptism, which upset Sanford.
"He just became agitated and frustrated," Combs said.
Hear more from Pastor Caleb Combs in the video player below:
Seven days later, Sanford launched his attack on the LDS church in Grand Blanc Township, killing four worshippers and injuring several others.
Butler acknowledged receiving criticism for starting the fundraiser but said positive responses far outweigh the negative ones.
"I think that's the real story here, right? It isn't me. What I did is very tiny. It's the 7,300-plus people who said what can I do, right, what's the light I can bring into darkness," Butler said.
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