Posted on 12/10/2007 11:52:02 AM PST by Alex Murphy
COLORADO SPRINGS - The two people killed in a shooting spree at a busy megachurch were identified Monday as teenage sisters, police and church officials said.
"Our hearts are grieving this morning for them," said Brady Boyd, senior pastor at New Life Church.
Colorado Springs Police identified the gunman as 24-year-old Matthew J. Murray of Englewood, who was shot and killed by a member of the church's armed security staff. Boyd said the gunman had no connection to the church and called it a "senseless random attack."
He said the security guard was a volunteer but he did not release her name.
Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16, were killed when the gunman entered the main foyer and opened fire with a high-powered rifle, police said.
One of the three people who were injured in the attack was David Works, 51, who was in fair condition with gunshot wounds in his abdomen and groin area, police said. They didn't say whether he was related to the two girls who died.
Also injured were Judy Purcell, 40, who suffered a gunshot wound to her right shoulder, and Larry Bourbannais, 59, who had a gunshot wound in his left forearm, police said. Both were treated and released.
Authorities searched a home in the Denver suburb of Englewood early Monday, seeking any link between two deadly shooting sprees at Christian religious centers in Colorado Springs and Arvada.
Five people, including a gunman, died in the attacks Sunday at New Life Church and at the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. Five others were wounded.
Colorado Springs Police Monday identified the shooting victims at the New Life Church. The two people who were killed were teenage sisters.
- Rachael Works, 16, was killed
- Stephanie Works, 18, was killed
- David Works, 51, 2 gunshot wounds, fair condition
- Judy Purcell, 40, treated and released
- Larry Bourbannais, 59, treated and released
Arvada Police identified the shooting victims at the Youth With a Mission center Sunday:
- Tiffany Johnson, 26 from Minnesota, was killed
- Philip Crouse, 24, from Alaska, was killed
- Dan Griebenow, 24, critical but stable condition
- Charlie Blanch, 22, hospitalized with gunshot wounds to legs
"Violent crimes of any sort are tragic enough, but when innocent people are killed in a religious facility or a place of worship, we must voice a collective sense of outrage and demonstrate a renewed commitment to keeping our communities safe," said Gov. Bill Ritter.
Police in Arvada said they believed the shootings -- which occurred 12 hours and about 65 miles apart -- were probably linked, though they had nothing conclusive to back up the theory.
"Given the circumstances, I think it is a good possibility that the two are linked," Arvada Deputy Police Chief Gary Creagor told The Associated Press early Monday. "But we have to prove that they are."
At a news conference Sunday, Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said that there was "reason to believe" the shootings were connected, though he declined to elaborate.
Early Monday, authorities were searching the home in Englewood, about 15 miles south of Denver, that they said could be related to the Colorado Springs shooting case. Authorities could be seen coming and going from the home, and at one point searching the bushes in front.
The violence began about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, when a man opened fire at the Youth With a Mission office after he had been denied a request to spend the night there. Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap, who had a handgun.
More than 12 hours later, at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, a gunman with a high-powered rifle entered the church's main foyer and opened fire, Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said.
The gunman was killed by a member of the church's armed security staff before police arrived, Myers said. His name was not released. Officers also found several smoke-generating devices on the church campus; their intended purpose wasn't clear.
Boyd said the security guard rushed the attacker, who didn't get more than 6 feet inside the building, and "took him down in the hallway."
"She probably saved 100 lives," Boyd said of the guard, whom he didn't identify but noted has a law enforcement background. The gunman, he added, "had a lot of ammunition to do a lot of damage."
Some 15 to 20 volunteer guards serve at the church, Boyd said, noting that an evacuation plan was performed flawlessly.
Jessie Gingrich, who had left New Life and was in the parking lot getting into her car, saw the gunman get a rifle from his trunk and open fire on a van with people inside. She cowered in her car, fumbling with the ignition key.
"I was just expecting for the next gunshot to be coming through my car. Miraculously -- by the grace of God -- it did not," she told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.
About 7,000 people were on the church campus at the time of the shooting, Boyd said. Security had been beefed up after the shootings hours earlier in Arvada, he said.
Ashley Gibbs was getting into a car with David Harris when they heard the gunshots -- a sound like someone kicking ice from the side of a car, she said. Harris said he saw the gunman, and it looked like he knew how to handle a weapon.
"I was in the military for about three years, and the way he was holding the rifle looked just like the way we were taught to when I was in the military," he told NBC's "Today" show on Monday.
They stayed in the vehicle and prayed for the gunman.
"It was obvious that he was in some sort of pain and going through a lot," Gibbs told NBC's "Today" show. "I just prayed God would bring him peace."
New Life, with about 10,000 members, was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was dismissed last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him. Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, admitted committing undisclosed "sexual immorality."
The two dead victims at the missionary center were identified as Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24.
Johnson, who grew up in Chisholm, Minn., loved working with children and wanted to see the world, said family friend Carla Macynski.
"Tiffany was a well-liked, easygoing 26-year-old. She was friendly, adventurous and a definite leader. She wanted to see the world," Macynski said as she choked back tears. Johnson had traveled to Egypt, Libya and South Africa with the missionary group.
Crouse, of Alaska, had helped build a foster home at a Crow reservation in Montana, said Ronny Morris, who works with a Denver chapter of the mission.
Staffer Dan Griebenow, 24, of South Dakota, was shot in the neck, according to Youth With a Mission. Staffer Charlie Blanch, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to his legs, according to ministry officials. His hometown wasn't immediately known.
The missionary center is on the grounds of the Faith Bible Chapel. Cheril Morrison, wife of chapel pastor George Morrison, said Crouse had just hung up Christmas lights at her home and that Johnson was "an amazingly beautiful person."
Mimi Martin, who lives near the center, said she received a warning call at about 9 a.m. telling neighbors to keep their doors and windows locked.
"Why would anybody want to hurt those kids?" Martin said.
Darv Smith, director of a Youth With a Mission center in Boulder, said people ranging from their late teens to their 70s undergo a 12-week course that prepares them to be missionaries. He said the center trains about 300 people a year.
Paul Filidis, a Colorado Springs-based spokesman with Youth With a Mission, said staffers are usually former missionaries themselves and that the "mercy ministries" performed by trainees include orphanage work.
Youth With a Mission was started in 1960 and now has 1,100 locations with 16,000 full-time staff, Smith said. The Arvada center was founded in 1984.
The Colorado shootings came only days after a 19-year-old gunman opened fire at a popular mall in Omaha, Neb., killing eight people and himself.
Live video from inside the church....
They took it down.
Matthew J. Murray? What kind of name is that for a Muslim?
Police in Arvada said they believed the shootings -- which occurred 12 hours and about 65 miles apart -- were probably linked, though they had nothing conclusive to back up the theory."Given the circumstances, I think it is a good possibility that the two are linked," Arvada Deputy Police Chief Gary Creagor told The Associated Press early Monday. "But we have to prove that they are."
Does this mean that they still aren't certain that it was the same shooter at both locations? Or just that they are unwilling to confirm that this man targeted people at two religious institutions?
As good as one as Charles Bishop (Charles Bishra) or Richard Reid (Abdul Raheem).
Doesn’t mean anything one way or the other.
Not a very good Muslim.
“”” Matthew J. Murray? What kind of name is that for a Muslim? “””
No crap. I like how AllahPundit bans people for pulling that on hotair.
If it's a homeschooler who was raised as a Christian do you want them to emphasize that in their coverage of the targeting of two religious institutions?
At this stage how can the conclusion be reached that this was a random act? The shooter was reported to be wearing body armor and a tactical helmet and that several devices, either bombs or smoke generators were placed on the campus.
this was the GoldenCompass Killer?
THIS is what the MSM should be focusing on if they had a single ounce, one cintilla of true jounalism left in their collective system. This is the news, along with he attack itself, that should be grabbing healines:
"ARMED HEROINE PREVENTS SLAUGHTER AT CHURCH BY SHOOTING THE ATTACKER DEAD"
Thank God that pastor there LISTENED to the inspiration he felt regarding protecting his flock, and then ACTED on it that morning by getting the additional security in place, which included, among other things as I understand it, getting his people to safe places within the church, each group protected by an armed security guard, and getting them out of the line of fire...as well as having this particular security guard near him who was able (and WILLING) to react to the attack by taking the fight directly to the perp and taking him down.
Without such actions and plan, their would have been a much, much more horrific body count I am afraid...which just punctuates the point of arming the people so they can stop such attacks as they develop.
Agreed!!!
>> If it’s a homeschooler who was raised as a Christian do you want them to emphasize that in their coverage of the targeting of two religious institutions? <<
You think they wouldn’t have mentioned it was a Christian if he had shot up an atheist’s convention or an abortion clinic?
Besides, I only know of one Christian who routinely wears a skull cap, and I’m sure Pope Benedict’s got an alibi.
Yesterday, a few people here were betting that this terrorist was a Muslim.
It appears Matt is not a Muslim, but instead an American Terrorist.
They know. They knew yesterday. It took them less than one hour to compare shells. I just don’t understand why they don’t just come out and tell the public.
24-year-old Matthew J. Murray of Englewood, who was shot and killed by a member of the church's armed security staff.
I don't know many churches that have armed security, except maybe the Vatican, and some offshoot cults.
LOL! I'm still betting on Muslim convert (although he may also have been a nut or had a personal grudge, such as rejection by a girlfriend), because of the beard and the skullcap, if those reports were accurate. Furthermore, the family has two sons, and this would be the one, I believe, who was going to college in OK, although I don't know what school.
They read your post!
I’m glad they did have security but yes, I find it odd also.
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