GRAND BLANC, Mich. – The father of the man responsible for driving a truck into a Mormon church in Michigan before opening fire on congregants apologized for his son's actions on Monday.

The father, Thomas Sanford, told the Detroit Free Press that the situation is a "nightmare." Neighbors and members of the community in Grand Blanc, Michigan expressed shock and sorrow in interviews with Fox News Digital. Investigators have not determined a specific motive for the shooter, also named Thomas Sanford, as new details emerge about his romantic life and alleged anti-Mormon prejudice.

"I feel terrible about all the families that have been hurt and they're under the same crap that I'm going under, that my wife and I are going under," the elder Sanford said. "I apologize for that."

Sanford added that his son "loved the United States" and was a "family man."

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"The only thing I can say is that it was my son that did it," Sanford said. "As far as why? Irrelevant. It happened. We're dealing with it. It's been a nightmare."

Online images of the shooter's home showed a campaign sign for President Donald Trump on its fence, but the sign was not present when Fox News Digital saw the home on Monday.

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Neighbors of Sanford's father said they were aware of the attack but didn't speculate about the man's motive.

"It's just awful," the neighbor said, declining to be named.

Local city council candidate Kris Johns told Fox News that he spoke to Sanford just days before his attack and that the conversation veered toward extreme anti-Mormon rhetoric.

Sanford referred to Mormonism as "the anti-Christ" during their talk, Johns said.

Past acquaintances of Sanford's say he had no such prejudice earlier in his life. Sandra Winter, who says she was Sanford's landlady in Utah for roughly 10 months in 2010, said he dated and nearly married a Mormon woman during his time there.

Winter said she knew Sanford well and that he was considering joining the Mormon church in order to further his relationship with the girlfriend. She added that the woman's family was "pretty gung ho about the idea."

Despite all this, Winter said Sanford one day abruptly left without explanation.

Another Grand Blanc community member told Fox News Digital that he was at the police academy and watched national media descend on Grand Blanc after the attack.

"You see this stuff happening all over and think it can't happen here. And then suddenly it does," he said.

He went on to argue that media coverage of the shooting only adds "fuel to the fire," by giving notoriety to the attacker. As of Tuesday, at least four people are dead, seven are in stable condition in the wake of Sanford's attack.

"It's all about forgiveness," the Grand Blanc resident told Fox. "I'm not a Mormon but I'm a Christian, and I'm mourning right along with them."

Several local Christian churches have offered their support to the Mormon community in the wake of Sunday's attack. Grand Blanc's The River Church held a prayer service Sunday night, while St. Christopher's Episcopal Church offered to share its facilities for worship services.

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"We are all God's children," St. Christopher's wrote in a statement.

An alleged incident involving Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson in Dublin last week took a new twist on Monday as the team got back to the U.S.

Irish police said a formal complaint had not been filed in connection to reports that Thompson was assaulted and robbed in Dublin while his team prepared to play the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL’s first regular-season game in the country.

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An Garda Síochána, the national police, said it did not have information to substantiate the robbery report involving Thompson.

The NFL Network reported Thompson was robbed and suffered minor injuries in the incident. Irish media reported "a number of males were involved in an assault on Thompson near the Temple Bar area" and that his phone was stolen.

Police said officers became involved early Saturday when they encountered a man who required medical assistance.

"The male in his 20s was treated and assessed at the scene by emergency services personnel," police said without commenting further about the assault report.

The Steelers issued a statement on the incident.

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"We are aware of a situation involving Skylar Thompson on Friday night in Dublin," a Steelers spokesperson told the NFL Network. "We will have no further comment at this time as we are working with NFL security to gather more information regarding the incident."

The NFL Players Association also commented on the incident.

"As always, our priority is the health and safety of our player members — especially as we continue to work on the player protections and well-being while playing international games — and we will continue to support Skylar in any way he needs," the union said.

Thompson, 28, signed with the Steelers in January after spending some time with the Miami Dolphins. He was activated to the roster in March and earned the backup job to quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

He was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 10 due to a hamstring injury. Thompson, Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are the quarterbacks on the roster.

The Steelers defeated the Vikings on Sunday, 24-21.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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