GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. – For the medical team at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, Sunday’s mass shooting at a local church became deeply personal when they discovered two of their own residents were among the hurt.
“All these patients started rolling through the door, one after another, with wounds you just never see in Grand Blanc, Michigan,” said Dr. Chris Ash, medical director of surgical services at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital.
The hospital’s emergency department first learned of the attack through an unexpected source — one of their medical residents who was inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the shooting began.
“The resident said, ‘There’s an active shooter in our church,’ and that was before EMS had been called. It was before anybody else knew about this,” said Dr. Alan Janssen, residency program director and medical director of emergency medicine.
The attack, which left four dead and eight injured, began Sept. 28, 2025, around 10:25 a.m. when a gunman rammed his vehicle into the church before opening fire and setting the building ablaze.
For the medical team, the situation became even more challenging when they realized some of their own were among the victims.
At least five residents from the hospital regularly attend the church, with two becoming patients themselves during the Sunday service.
“What really affected us was not only the age and severity of the injuries but also the connection. We were treating our own,” said Dr. Sanford Ross, attending emergency physician and assistant director of emergency medicine.
The hospital mobilized additional medical staff as patients began arriving. In total, they treated 10 victims.
“Emergency medicine is a team sport,” Janssen said. “Everybody has to be on the same page. I’m not talking about just the emergency department. I’m talking about everyone from EMS to the fire department to the police to your registration to all your techs in the department and your nurses.”
As of Tuesday evening, three patients remained under the hospital’s care, though their conditions were improving, according to hospital officials.
“Words cannot describe the feeling,” Ash said. “We really shouldn’t have to go through this in any community.”
The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack, which they are investigating as an act of targeted violence.
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