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michigan
Slaughter at Michigan Mormon Church the 324th Mass Shooting in US This Year
"Our leaders MUST act now—before another community is shattered and more lives are lost to a crisis that we know is preventable," said one advocacy group.
Sep 29, 2025
On the 271st day of 2025, researchers on Sunday counted at least three mass shootings around the United States, bringing the total number of attacks to 324 this year so far.
At least four people were killed and eight were injured at a meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon church, in Grand Blanc, Michigan, where the alleged attacker also set the church on fire.
The suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, is accused of “firing several rounds at individuals inside the church” with an assault rifle and setting a fire that quickly engulfed the building. The FBI is leading an investigation into the attack, which authorities believe as "an act of targeted violence."
Journalist Mehdi Hasan emphasized that the deadly attack 60 miles north of Detroit was part of a torrent of gun violence-related news, posting on social media about another shooting in Southport, North Carolina shortly after he had commented on the church shooting.
"I literally can’t keep track of the mass shootings in this country," said Hasan. "This is different to the Michigan mass shooting I just posted about."
Police also said the shooting at a waterfront bar in the port town near Wilmington was "targeted" and "highly premeditated." At least three people were killed and five were injured. Like Sanford, the suspect in the Southport shooting, Nigel Edge, was a former US Marine who had served in the US war in Iraq.
The gun violence prevention group Giffords noted on Sunday that at least two people were also killed in a shooting at a casino in Eagle Pass, Texas, with all three shootings taking place within a 24-hour period.
"Gun violence is tearing communities apart across America," said Giffords. "The scale of this horror is unimaginable. Our leaders MUST act now—before another community is shattered and more lives are lost to a crisis that we know is preventable."
Authorities were still investigating a motive in the shooting in Michigan on Monday, while President Donald Trump—who has spent recent weeks since the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk falsely asserting that people harboring left-wing political views are the driving force behind political violence in the US, contrary to extensive research on the subject—suggested the suspect had committed "yet another targeted attack targeted attack on Christians."
Kris Johns, a candidate for city council in a town near Grand Blanc, told USA Today that the suspect had recently railed against the Mormon church when Johns canvassed at his home. Their conversation did not delve into political leanings, Johns said, but he said "he spotted a Trump 2024 sign on the suspect's fence."
Unlike the administration's response to other recent violent attacks, Hasan noted, top officials such as FBI Director Kash Patel and Vice President JD Vance have refrained from making proclamations about the need to hold left-wing activists and groups accountable for this shooting.
The anti-gun violence group Brady noted Sunday that the public was "awaiting more details on the shooting," but emphasized that the attack and others like it are preventable.
"This does not need to be our reality," said Brady. "We have the solutions. Our leaders simply need the will to act!"
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) added that "we must move with urgency to end gun violence in our country."
A majority of Americans say it is too easy to obtain a firearm in the US, and a review of thousands of studies by the RAND Corporation found that requiring universal background checks for gun purchasers and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons sales would be likely to reduce gun violence and mass shootings. The most recent major legislation passed to address gun violence was the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, but advocates warned that its "enhanced" background checks for people under age 21 and other incremental provisions would do too little to save lives.
"The near daily barrage of deadly mass shootings in America feels like low-level warfare against normal citizens who just want to live in peace," said journalist Aaron Rupar Sunday. "And because people keep electing Republicans who won’t do anything about it there’s no solution in sight."
The suspect in the North Carolina shooting had filed a federal lawsuit against the US government alleged he had suffered a traumatic brain injury during his service in Iraq. He had also accused the Department of Veterans Affairs of medical negligence in a lawsuit that was filed last week before being withdrawn a day later.
Shannon Watts, founder of the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action, pointed to reports of other legal complaints filed by Edge, including some that claimed conspiracies had been masterminded by the LGBTQ+ community against him.
With its weak gun control laws, said Watts, "America gave him access to an AR-15 and a silencer anyway."
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Sanders Backs Progressive Michigander Donavan McKinney for Congress
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
Jun 17, 2025
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday endorsed Donavan McKinney, a progressive primary challenger to a Democratic congressman who represents one of Michigan’s poorest districts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sanders (I-Vt.) released a statement announcing his support for McKinney, a state representative who seeks to oust incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar in next year’s Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
McKinney is the political director for Michigan's Service Employees International Union, the largest healthcare union in the state. In 2022, he was elected to the state Legislature, where he has represented a district with a median income of less than $20,000.
As a state legislator, McKinney has led efforts to address the high cost of living and poor living conditions of those in his district. In 2024, he supported Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's expansion of free pre-K for Michigan children and helped to secure funding to replace the state's lead pipe infrastructure. He has also called out utility companies, like DTE Energy, that have continuously hiked costs and reaped massive profits.
McKinney has honed his message against corporate control of politics, closely aligning himself with Sanders' message about "Fighting Oligarchy." McKinney has also received endorsements from the progressive group Justice Democrats and from Sanders' close progressive ally and fellow Michigander Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better," Tlaib said.
McKinney has contrasted his working-class upbringing with that of Thanedar, a former pharmaceutical executive who is estimated to be worth $41 million, making him the 28th richest member of Congress.
While running for Congress, Thanedar pledged to "never take a dime" of corporate money. But according to The Detroit News, he received at least $36,000 from political action committees (PACs) backed by some of America's largest auto manufacturers, tech firms, and energy companies, including DTE.
According to his website, McKinney "is committed to getting big money out of politics, and elevating the voices of voters over the influence of super PACs and corporations."
After the 2024 election saw unprecedented influence from billionaires like Elon Musk to help elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, McKinney co-introduced a bill to ban utility monopolies and government contractors from making political donations in Michigan.
Citing reports that Thanedar spent over $5 million of his own money to fund his campaign in 2022, McKinney has described him as "a multimillionaire who spent millions to buy his seat in Congress," one who has "more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk" than with residents of his district.
"We deserve a Democratic Party that leads the fight against the billionaires robbing us blind, that stands up to corporate PACs," McKinney said in the video announcing his campaign.
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Professors Express Outrage Over UMich's Use of Investigators to Surveil Gaza Student Protestors
"My university has no business doing this," wrote one professor at the University of Michigan Law School.
Jun 06, 2025
Multiple professors expressed outrage on Friday in response to reporting from The Guardian, which found that the University of Michigan is making use of undercover investigators to keep tabs on pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
"My university has no business doing this. I love the University of Michigan, and this is not how we should operate," said University of Michigan Law School professor Sam Bagenstos, writing from his personal Bluesky account.
The Guardian spoke to several unnamed students who said that they have been followed, recorded, or eavesdropped on private investigators. Students who spoke to the outlet tracked dozens of investigators who have trailed them around campus.
Students say they have confronted the investigators, and one student captured on video multiple interactions with a man who the student says has been following him. In one video, the man falsely accuses the student of attempting to rob him, and in another the man appears to fake being disabled.
When contacted by the outlet, the University of Michigan did not deny the surveillance, which The Guardian reported appears to be largely an intimidation tactic. The school said it had not received any complaints about the investigators.
"Any security measures in place are solely focused on maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and are never directed at individuals or groups based on their beliefs or affiliations," a spokesperson for the school said in an email.
One student who says she's been regularly followed is Katrina Keating, a student who is a part of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, which is a local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Keating told The Guardian that the surveillance has made her feel "on edge." Keating said she was first followed in November.
According to The Guardian, the investigators appear to work for the private security group City Shield. The university's governing body, the board of regents, paid at least $800,000 to City Shield's parent company from June 2023 to September 2024.
"Disgusting. University of Michigan pays around $800,000 to a private security firm to surveil pro-Palestinian students," wrote Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar.
Adil Haque, a professor at Rutgers Law School, wrote: "Outrageous. This is a public university."
Chris Geraldi, a journalist with New York Focus, wrote that "every paragraph of this story is bonkers."
In April, with the blessing of Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, law enforcement officers raided the homes of multiple student organizers connected to Palestine solidarity protests at the University of Michigan.
Students who spoke to The Guardian said the surveillance has increased in the wake of those raids.
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