The Michigan man suspected of perpetuating a deadly attack at a Mormon church on Sunday hated the sect, according to longtime friends, and told at least one person he believed they were “the antichrist.”

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford , started making those feelings known after returning to Michigan from Utah, where friends said he dated a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

“We were like, ‘Come on, we don’t want to hear this,'” Bobby Kalush, who grew up with Sanford, told The Associated Press. “When he came back from Utah, he was a completely different person.”

“It was just so random. It was like, ‘Why Mormons, dude?'” said Frances Tersigni, one of Sanford’s best friends. “It’s hard to explain. We didn’t take it serious.”

Tersi

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