Online fundraiser for family of suspected Grand Blanc Twp. church shooter surpasses $320K

(WNEM) - “It’s been an amazing experience to be surrounded by this hurricane of mercy and love and beauty,” said David Butler.

Butler lives in Utah, but his thoughts were fixed on Michigan Sunday morning when he decided to help from afar.

He couldn’t help but think of the family Thomas “Jake” Sanford, the man who police said killed four people and injured eight others at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.

Sanford was killed in a shootout with police, leaving behind his young son, too.

“I went to look and see if there was support for his family, and there was a previous GoFundMe, which was an attempt to raise funds to help their son [sic] who suffers from congenital hyperinsulinism,” Butler said. “That’s a kid that already needed help. Now he doesn’t have a father. So, there’s this other family that are also suffering, that cannot possibly have chosen this.”

Butler, an author who is deeply devoted to his Mormon faith, decided to do something as he closely followed the devastating developments.

“I think actually I saw somebody else’s tweet about, ‘hey has anyone thought about the Sanford family?’ In any case, it was clear nobody else was doing it, and so I took it upon myself to do it,” Butler said.

Immediately, his GiveSendGo campaign gained traction.

“My original goal was $10,000 and we blew threw it before lunch, and I said, ‘okay there’s going to be need for a long time, let’s make it 50.’ And, then we blew through that by like 2 in the afternoon,” Butler said.

He said he’s talked with a member of the Sanford family, and they’re thankful to see the compassionate messages and uplifting prayers.

“They [the Sanford family] expressed just immense, very moving gratitude for the people who have expressed support, reading down the GiveSendGo and seeing message after message expressing, you know, love and inclusion and, you know, mercy. They have told me that that has been moving and meaningful for them,” Butler said.

As of Thursday (Oct. 2) evening, four days after the deadly shooting and fire, the goal is now $500,000 with more than $300,000 raised.

Butler remains humble and tearfully insisted that it’s not about him, that someone else would’ve started the campaign if he didn’t.

“If I hadn’t done that, somebody else would’ve done it, and I believe that because 70, 7,500 people... I haven’t even been watching it for 2 hours -- I don’t know what the number actually is -- have pitched in to support this family,” Butler said.

Right now he doesn’t have plans to meet the family in person and doesn’t want to impose on them during this difficult time.

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He said he talked with the family about the fundraising campaign.

“We were talking about what to do with the money, right. We’re going to sort that out. The answer is, the family gets it. The question is just how,” Butler said.

He said those details will be finalized as the campaign closes and the media attention dies down.

As for those who do not want to or do not feel comfortable donating to the family of the suspected killer, Butler said there are other ways to do some good.

“Maybe this is not the thing you want to support. There are other victims. There are other causes, but go do something right if you’re feeling anxious, if you worry that it feels everything is falling apart, go do something yourself,” Butler said.