Witnesses Give Chilling First Hand Accounts of Church Attack

Harrowing first hand accounts are starting to emerge from those who witnessed the violent church attack in Michigan this past Sunday.

Like many, I heard about the attack on the Mormon church in Grand Blanc while sitting in the pew with my own family Sunday morning here in Texas.

My mind went to my own precautions.

I immediately gave a cursory glance to the back door — purposefully sitting with it directly in my line of sight.

I glanced through the window to the parking lot; again intentionally positioned where I could have an angle on the exterior of our little country church.

I can barely remember a time that I didn’t come to church prepared for the worst, planning along with others in the congregation to respond appropriately if need be.

Did I mention we live in Texas?

Meanwhile — a mere 24 hours after a man launched a full-out assault on parishioners in that church in Michigan — I’m hearing stories of shock and panic from those willing to speak openly about the horror they witnessed.

One survivor, a husband attending services with his wife and two sons, broke down describing his own fear during the event.

Here’s a brief excerpt from Paul Kirby’s story — I’ll cover more of his story in a moment — as reported by NewsNation:

Eyewitness accounts are beginning to emerge after police said four people were killed and eight others injured in a shooting and fire at a church in Michigan on Sunday.

Paul Kirby, who was in the church when the shooting began, described to the New York Times that he heard what sounded like an explosion. He also told the outlet that when he went to get help, he observed a man just yards away from him getting out of his truck and starting to shoot.

“The scaredest I’ve ever been,” Kirby said.

Kirby also described the moment he saw the fear in his oldest son’s eyes when the danger became clear.

Here’s a clip from a Fox News story that includes Paul Kirby’s explanation of what his family, and particular his oldest son, experienced during what is now being called a targeted attack:

Another survivor described how bullets narrowly missed him.

Brian Taylor spoke to multiple news outlets following the attack, including this account which includes praise from the Police Chief of Grand Blanc for congregants who protected the youngest among them during the attack, as reported by CNN:

Churchgoer Brian was trying to help some elderly ladies into his car when the gunman opened fire on their vehicle, he told WXYZ.

“We were trying to gather as many people as we could,” said Brian, his button-down shirt stained with blood and right hand wrapped in gauze. “I saw the active shooter come out of the building, and at that point, I just started trying to drive away.”

Churchgoers rushed to protect children, shielding them and moving them to safety, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said Sunday.

When nurses on strike at nearby Henry Ford Genesys Hospital heard about the shooting, some left the picket line and ran to the nearby church to help first responders, Teamsters Local 332 President Dan Glass said.

“Human lives matter more than our labor dispute,” he said.

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But gunfire wasn’t the only danger. A fire had started in the church’s red brick meeting house.

“All of a sudden, I saw smoke coming out,” Cindy Walsh, who was at home near the chapel, told WXYZ. “And then people were coming out.”

Eight minutes after police arrived, the gunman was killed in the parking lot.

Meanwhile, the raging fire moved rapidly, quickly engulfing the chapel – with an unknown number of people still in the church – as it billowed massive plumes of thick, black smoke.

As the sun went down, crews were still sifting through debris and “working tirelessly to find additional bodies,” Renye said, adding he couldn’t confirm the exact number of people missing.

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Up to seven people may be unaccounted for, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN late Sunday.

Brian Taylor, referenced in the previous article, also spoke with ABC News and detailed the moment he was directly fired upon by the shooter.

This clip also includes more from Paul Kirby, the man I mentioned earlier who is still rattled by his own fear and that he witnessed from his own son:

I also found a poignant mashup of 3 different survivors describing what they saw during the attack.

The first lady in this next clip is identified as Paula Maser, and I’ll have a longer clip of her story in just a moment.

In listening to these stories, I am starting to recognize that the attacker seemed intent on targeting people in the parking lot — as they moved from the building to their vehicles in an attempt to flee.

Paula Maser, the first eye witness from that previous clip, identified herself as a Primary School teacher in a longer conversation with a local NBC affiliate.

She explained that the violence broke out suddenly at a particular moment in the service, as covered by the local NBC affiliate, WDIV-TV out of Michigan:

Authorities commended the heroics of those inside the church, many of whom were shielding the children at the time of the attack.

“They were shielding the children who were also present within the church, moving them to safety,” Renye said. “Just hundreds of people just practicing their faith. Just extreme courage. Brave. And that’s the type of community that we are.”

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Paula Maser, a primary teacher, recounted the horrifying moments after Sanford ran his truck into the church and opened fire.

“We had already sung our Sacrament part, and we heard a big bang, and it blew the doors in the church,” Maser said. “Everything after that was chaos.”

In an interview with NBC, Maser said Sanford shot at her and other church members as they tried to escape.

“I got in the car with friends, I got my friend in the car, and we were getting ready to leave, and the shooter shot at the car, three bullets hit the car,” she said.

The vehicle that Paul and her friends attempted to use while the attack was ongoing can be seen behind her during a more detailed explanation she gave to another reporter on scene immediately after the incident.

In this video, Paul describes exactly what was going through her mind in the moments the attack began.

She then explains how the situation played out, including the panicked reaction of the congregation:

Unfortunately, as you heard in that clip, Paula “lost friends” in the attack.

She also mentioned that some of her young students were injured in the violence.

My heart goes out to Paula and all those who had to endure the tragedy of being hunted in your own church on a beautiful Sunday morning in America.

And I don’t want to sound calloused or cold when I point this out — but did you catch the answer Paula gave when asked if there was any sort of security in place?

“No.”

I’m not Mormon, and in fact I hold quite a different theological worldview as compared to the LDS church as a whole.

But this is America — and if we believe in anything… if we hold ANYTHING sacred in this country…

It is the FREEDOM to WORSHIP as you see fit, and to gather together in peace to do so.

Unfortunately, the days of relative quite for those who claim the name of Jesus in America is over.

Take precautions, people.  Pray for the best.  Hope for the best.  And don’t walk around in constant fear of what might happen.

But as the sons of Issachar are described in Scripture as having their heads on a swivel, rightly perceiving the days and the season in which they lived…

I would counsel followers of Christ to all do likewise.

Not succumbing to fear, but prudently preparing from a place of wisdom — knowing “how to discern the times…” (I Chronicles 12:32)

And I hope you’ll join with me — regardless of where you fit in the spectrum of religious belief — praying for those who had to endure evil on the very doorstep of their church this past Sunday.