14-year-old hailed as hero for actions during Michigan church attack

SALT LAKE CITY — A teenage boy is being hailed as a hero after protecting his two younger brothers from gunfire during the Grand Blanc Township shooting that killed four people and severely injured eight others.

Jasper, 14, was serving as an usher during the passing of the sacrament on Sunday at his congregation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His job was to stand by the chapel doors to make sure the area was reverent. According to his aunt, Amber Rosen, as the sacrament was finishing, Jasper suddenly had a runny nose.

“It was so unexpected and came on fast,” Rosen said. “Jasper hadn’t been sick. But he felt the need to leave his post and go to the restroom to get a tissue.”

Moments later, the gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, crashed his truck through the front doors of the church. The shooter entered the chapel through the exact doors where Jasper had been stationed.

“The shooter came to where his post was. So had he not needed to blow his nose, Jasper would have been the first person the shooter saw,” Rosen said.

Rosen, who lives in Sandy, said her sister Michelle and her other children were sitting in the back of the congregation when Sanford opened fire.

“Jasper ran to them and grabbed his eight and 10-year-old brothers,” Rosen said. “In the chaos, his sister Josie was whisked away with another family trying to exit.”

More than one hundred people were trying to exit through one door to escape the gunfire.

“The shooter knew this and so he went around to wait at the doors to shoot people as they were fleeing the chapel,” Rosen said. “So Jasper led his mom and two brothers to a back exit.”

This door became blocked in the pandemonium, and Jasper’s younger brothers were being thrust up against the glass, unable to get out.

“Without even thinking, Jasper took his elbow and hit the glass window a few times and the whole thing shattered with no cuts to him,” Rosen said. “They ran into the parking lot. Jasper flagged down a car that was leaving and put his brothers inside, so that they were off-site and safe. He was so brave and heroic.”

Rosen said at this point, the chapel was fully engulfed in flames. Rosen started to cry as she expressed how worried her sister was that Josie was missing.

“My sister kept saying, ‘I have to run back in that church. My sweet girl! Where is Josie? Where is Josie?’ But Jasper comforted her and assured her Josie was with another family, safe,” she said.

Jasper and his mother hid behind cars while the gunman exchanged fire with officers.

“It was so absolutely terrifying. The trauma is deep. No child should ever have to experience this — let alone take a leadership position in a violent attack like this one,” Rosen said.

SWAT teams found 11-year-old Josie hiding in the woods. She was clutching a Latter-day Saint hymnbook when she was discovered.

“When Jasper saw her, he sprinted and grabbed her and of course it was a wonderful reunion for them that their family was all together and safe,” Rosen said. “I believe that angels were with them.”

Rosen plans to join her sister who lives in Boise this weekend as they fly to their hometown of Grand Blanc to support her family.

“We are all visiting Michigan this weekend with our family because that’s where we want to be,” Rosen said. “We all just want to curl up with a big blanket, watch movies and enjoy the sisterhood. The healing will be a long road. This has been harder than anyone could imagine.”

---

Editor’s note: Jasper’s family asked KSL not to use his last name for reasons of privacy.