ISTANBUL

At least two people were killed and eight others injured when a gunman opened fire at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township in Michigan on Sunday morning, police said.

"Ten gunshot victims have been transported to local hospitals at this time, including one who has been deceased," Grand Blanc Police Chief William Renye told reporters.

Renye said several victims are in critical condition.

One of the injured later died at a local hospital, increasing the number of fatalities to two, he said in a subsequent video statement.

"We do not have names of victims at this time," the Grand Blanc Township Police Department said in a statement.

The 40-year-old suspect, who is also dead, drove his vehicle through the front doors of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before exiting and "firing several rounds at individuals within the church," according to the police chief.

"The service was active. There were hundreds of people within the church," Renye said.

The shooting caused a fire at the church, but police later confirmed that it had been contained. "There was a fire that occurred, and we believe that it was deliberately set by the suspect," Renye said.

Authorities will search the suspect's residence and investigate the motive behind the attack.

US President Donald Trump said he has been briefed on the “horrendous shooting" and labeled it as a "targeted attack" on Christians and the US.

“This epidemic of violence in our country must end, immediately,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are assisting local authorities in the investigation.