The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in the US by Joseph Smith in the 1800s, but its followers are now more commonly referred to as Mormons.
Mormons believe their church is a restoration of the Church as conceived by Jesus, and that other Christians have gone astray.
There is a strong focus on traditional family roles and values, and they oppose abortion, same-sex marriage and the consumption of alcohol.
Although there are Mormon churches all over the US, Utah has the highest population of people who identify as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Michigan police have also commented on the moment when the church-goers responded to the shooting incident, and how they sheltered children at a critical time.
Officials have now updated the death toll from the incident to four people – excluding the suspect who is also deceased.
Authorities also said that the entire church has not yet been cleared because of extensive fire damage, and that some people are still unaccounted for.
The motive remains unclear as police continue their investigation, led by the FBI.
“All indications” point to the suspect using an accelerant to light the church on fire, according to James Deir, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
He adds that authorities believe the accelerant the suspect used was gasoline.
Responding to a question about improvised explosive devices (IEDs), he says that some suspected explosive devices were found at the scene, but that officials cannot say whether the suspect used that to start the fire.
This is a developing story.
Source- BBC
