Michigan gunman Thomas Sanford’s mom posted eerie message about someone ‘avoiding accountability’ days before shooting

The mother of Michigan church gunman Thomas Sanford made an ominous social media post about the battles of engaging with someone who “constantly avoids accountability” — just days before her ex-Marine son unleashed his deadly rampage.

Sanford’s mom, Brenda Walters-Sanford, posted the eerie message on Facebook before Sunday’s carnage at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, according to screenshots circulating online.

Brenda Walters-Sanford is the mom of Michigan church shooter Thomas Michael Sanford. She’s holding a Trump/Vance campaign sign in a undated photo.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford
Michigan church shooter Thomas Michael Sanford in an undated Facebook photo with a dead deer.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

“Talking to someone who constantly avoids accountability is not a real conversation — it’s a battle. It’s a cycle of deflection, projection, twisting, and playing the victim,” read the post on her since-deleted account, which was obtained by the Daily Mail.

“When I try to express how your actions have hurt me, you don’t listen with the intention of understanding; you listen with the intention of defending yourself. That’s not communication — that’s self-preservation of your ego.”

The post appeared to be part of a viral chain that often gets reposted by scores of users.

Thomas Jacob Sanford with his parents and sister.
Facebook/Jake Sanford

“I don’t owe my peace to someone who only wants to win an argument, not to understand my heart. My energy is not a prize for someone committed to misunderstanding me. At some point, you have to value yourself enough to stop begging someone to hear you,” the post read.

Smoke rises as emergency personnel work at the scene of a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
REUTERS
A gunman opened fired on a Michigan LDS church before setting it ablaze on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
AP
Brenda Walters-Sanford’s cryptic post before the shooting at the Michigan LDS church.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

It wasn’t immediately clear if the mom was referring to anyone specific.

Other posts on her account showed support for President Trump, as well a photo of her son hunting.
Trump, for his part, blasted Sunday’s shooting as an attack on Christians in the wake of the violence that left at least four dead and eight others injured.

People hug after a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
AP
Emergency crews at the site of a heavily damaged Latter-day Saints church, with a large section of the building burned and collapsed.
AP

The FBI was still trying to determine what motivated the Iraq War vet to ram his US flag-adorned pickup truck into the church and open fire as services were in full swing.

Sanford later set fire to the church while hundreds of people were still inside.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday indicated the gunman “hated people of the Mormon faith.”

The FBI inspects the shooting suspect’s truck outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
Four women comfort a young woman in the center who is crying after the shooting.
AP

“From what I understand based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” Leavitt told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning without elaborating.

Brenda Walters-Sanford reshared a post on Charlie Kirk’s birthday.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

“They are trying to understand more about this: how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note.”

Investigators have been scouring Sanford’s home but authorities haven’t publicly disclosed any further details on him –- including whether he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The mother of Michigan church gunman Thomas Sanford made an ominous social media post about the battles of engaging with someone who “constantly avoids accountability” — just days before her ex-Marine son unleashed his deadly rampage.

Sanford’s mom, Brenda Walters-Sanford, posted the eerie message on Facebook before Sunday’s carnage at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, according to screenshots circulating online.

Brenda Walters-Sanford is the mom of Michigan church shooter Thomas Michael Sanford. She’s holding a Trump/Vance campaign sign in a undated photo.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford
Michigan church shooter Thomas Michael Sanford in an undated Facebook photo with a dead deer.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

“Talking to someone who constantly avoids accountability is not a real conversation — it’s a battle. It’s a cycle of deflection, projection, twisting, and playing the victim,” read the post on her since-deleted account, which was obtained by the Daily Mail.

“When I try to express how your actions have hurt me, you don’t listen with the intention of understanding; you listen with the intention of defending yourself. That’s not communication — that’s self-preservation of your ego.”

The post appeared to be part of a viral chain that often gets reposted by scores of users.

Thomas Jacob Sanford with his parents and sister.
Facebook/Jake Sanford

“I don’t owe my peace to someone who only wants to win an argument, not to understand my heart. My energy is not a prize for someone committed to misunderstanding me. At some point, you have to value yourself enough to stop begging someone to hear you,” the post read.

Smoke rises as emergency personnel work at the scene of a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
REUTERS
A gunman opened fired on a Michigan LDS church before setting it ablaze on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
AP
Brenda Walters-Sanford’s cryptic post before the shooting at the Michigan LDS church.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

It wasn’t immediately clear if the mom was referring to anyone specific.

Other posts on her account showed support for President Trump, as well a photo of her son hunting.
Trump, for his part, blasted Sunday’s shooting as an attack on Christians in the wake of the violence that left at least four dead and eight others injured.

People hug after a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
AP
Emergency crews at the site of a heavily damaged Latter-day Saints church, with a large section of the building burned and collapsed.
AP

The FBI was still trying to determine what motivated the Iraq War vet to ram his US flag-adorned pickup truck into the church and open fire as services were in full swing.

Sanford later set fire to the church while hundreds of people were still inside.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday indicated the gunman “hated people of the Mormon faith.”

The FBI inspects the shooting suspect’s truck outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
Four women comfort a young woman in the center who is crying after the shooting.
AP

“From what I understand based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” Leavitt told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning without elaborating.

Brenda Walters-Sanford reshared a post on Charlie Kirk’s birthday.
Facebook / Brenda Walters-Sanford

“They are trying to understand more about this: how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note.”

Investigators have been scouring Sanford’s home but authorities haven’t publicly disclosed any further details on him –- including whether he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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