Four wounded at Colorado missionary center

[Soldier4Christ]

Four wounded at Colorado missionary center

DENVER - A gunman walked into a training center for young Christian missionaries in a Denver suburb early Sunday and opened fire, wounding at least four people.

The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Youth With a Mission center, Arvada Police spokeswoman Susan Medina said.

The extent of the injuries was not clear, and the gunman was still at large Sunday morning.

According to its Web site, Youth With a Mission has about 1,000 locations worldwide and trains people to become missionaries. About 50 people were inside the Arvada site when the gunman opened fire.

[Soldier4Christ]

A lone gunman opened fire on a missionary training campus in Arvada early Sunday morning, shooting four people before fleeing.

Arvada Police investigators say the gunman walked into a dorm-like residence hall on the Faith Bible Chapel Campus at the Youth with a Mission facility near 64th & Ward Road just after midnight and began shooting.

Youth With A Mission is a group that trains people to be missionaries from all over the world.

All four people were rushed to area hospitals, where their conditions are unknown.

Arvada Police Spokeswoman Susan Medina says as many as 45 people were evacuated.

Dr. Darv Smith, who works with the Boulder-area group of the Christian missionary group, says there are six staff members on the Arvada campus. He says mostly students live on campus for a 12-week discipleship training.

Smith says most of the students are from other parts of the country and around the world, with ages ranging from right out of high school to "mature" adults in their 50s and 60s. He says the organization has about 16,000 people worldwide.

The suspect, who is still on the loose, is described as a white male, about 20 years old, who was wearing a dark coat. He may have been wearing a dark beanie, may have had a beard, and may have been wearing glasses.

[Shammu]

Well after talking to my mom, 2 are dead.

Both of my nieces are okay, but no word on my nephew yet. Yes this is why I'm home,e today, I'm the acting central switchboard for my family.

So I am going to ask for prayers for those unaccounted (not only my family, but others as well) for, that they maybe okay.

[HisDaughter]

Well after talking to my mom, 2 are dead.

Both of my nieces are okay, but no word on my nephew yet. Yes this is why I'm home,e today, I'm the acting central switchboard for my family.

So I am going to ask for prayers for those unaccounted (not only my family, but others as well) for, that they maybe okay.

Prayers are being lifed up now.

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Two dead in Colorado missionary center shooting

ARVADA, Colo - A gunman walked into a training center dormitory for young Christian missionaries early Sunday and opened fire, killing two of the center's staff members and wounding two others. No arrests had been made by late morning.

The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. at the Youth With a Mission center, police spokeswoman Susan Medina said. About 45 people were evacuated from the dormitory in this Denver suburb.

A man and a woman in their mid-20s died, and two men ages 22 and 23 were wounded, Medina said. One of the injured men was in critical condition, said Paul Filidis, a Colorado Springs-based spokesman with Youth With a Mission.

All four of the victims were staff members, Filidis said.

Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap. He may have glasses or a beard.

"There's no blueprint for this, we're just going to be honest and pray for one another, cry with one another," center director Peter Warren told KUSA-TV. "Who knows what was going on in this young man's life."

Police with several dogs searched the area through the night, and residents of nearby homes were notified by reverse 911 to be on the lookout. Medina said residents were asked to look out their windows to see if the snow had been disturbed during the night. About 4 inches of snow had fallen in the area in the past day.

Mimi Martin, who lives near the center, said she received the warning call at about 9 a.m. warning neighbors to keep their doors and windows locked.

"Why would anybody want to hurt those kids?" Martin said. "I just pray for their families."

The dormitory is on the campus of the Faith Bible Chapel. People bundled up against freezing cold arrived for Sunday services at the sanctuary, about 300 yards from the dormitory.

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 discipleship course that prepares them to be missionaries.

He said the center trains about 300 people a year.

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.

[Soldier4Christ]

There are reports on TV that there has now been a shooting at a church in another town about 70 miles from the first incident. There is no information on how many if any may have been injured at this one. The suspect is of similar description in this second shooting as was in the first.

[Soldier4Christ]

At Least 4 Shot Outside New Life Church

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.― At least four people were shot outside New Life Church on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear if any of them died, El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Lari Sevene said.

It was not immediately known if the shootings were connected with shootings earlier Sunday at a missionary training center in the Denver suburb of Arvada some 65 miles to the north. Two people died in the Arvada incident.

Lance Coles, a pastor at New Life Church, told The Associated Press he received a report that a man was shooting at people in the church parking lot and that the gunman may have entered the church.

New Life was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was fired last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three year cash-for-sex relationship.

Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, admitted to undisclosed "sexual immorality."

The church is one of Colorado's largest with about 10,000 members.

[Soldier4Christ]

Brother Bob have you been able to contact your family? My prayers are with them as they are with all in this area.

[Shammu]

Brother Bob have you been able to contact your family? My prayers are with them as they are with all in this area.

I just got off the phone, all my family is safe.

I still ask for prayers, for those that have been shot today.

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen. At least a little good news out of a horrible tragedy.

[Soldier4Christ]

Police say Colorado shootings may be linked 
Death toll in attacks rises to 5, police search for clues

Authorities searched a home in a Denver surburb early Monday, seeking any link between two deadly shooting sprees at Christian religious centers that left both communities baffled and stunned.

Five people, including a gunman, died in the attacks Sunday at a megachurch in Colorado Springs and at the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. Five others were wounded.

"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, 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 a home in suburban 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.

Witness descriptions differed
Witness descriptions differed in each incident. A handgun was used in the shootings at the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada, while a rifle was used at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, police said.

The gunman at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs was shot and killed by a church security guard after entering the church's main foyer with high-powered rifle shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday and opening fire, Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said. Four others were wounded at the time, Myers said.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

The church's 11 a.m. service had recently ended, and hundreds of people were milling about when the gunman opened fire. Nearby were parents picking up their children from the nursery.

Police arrived to find that the gunman had been killed by a member of the church's armed security staff, Myers said.

"There was a courageous staff member who probably saved many lives here today," Myers said.

Gov. Bill Ritter ordered state authorities to help investigate. The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting, and officers combed the church campus looking for suspicious devices. Officers found several smoke-generating devices on the church campus, Myers said. Their intended purpose was not clear.

Three of the injured were taken to Penrose Community Hospital in Colorado Springs, said hospital spokeswoman Amy Sufak. One person was in critical condition and another in fair condition. The third was treated and released, and the fourth was treated at the scene of the shooting, Myers said.

Founded by Rev. Haggard
New Life was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was fired 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 New Life church is one of Colorado's largest with about 10,000 members.

About 7,000 people were on the Colorado Springs campus at the time of the shooting, Senior Pastor Brady Boyd said. Security at the church had been beefed up after the early morning shootings in Arvada, he said.

That shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday at the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada, a Denver suburb, police spokeswoman Susan Medina said.

A man and a woman were killed and two men were wounded, Medina said. All four were staff members of the center, said Paul Filidis, a Colorado Springs-based spokesman with Youth With a Mission.

Peter Warren, director of Youth With a Mission Denver, said a man entered the center and asked whether he could spend the night. Several youths called on Tiffany Johnson, the center's director of hospitality.

"The director of hospitality was called. That's when he opened fire," Warren said. Johnson, 26, was killed.

Warren said he didn't know whether any of the students or staff knew the gunman. "We don't know why" he came to the dormitory, Warren said.

Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap, who had a handgun and left on foot. He may have glasses or a beard.

In addition to Johnson, killed in Arvada was Philip Crouse, 24. Youth With a Mission said Johnson was from Minnesota and Crouse was from Alaska.

The missionary center identified the wounded as Dan Griebenow, 24, and Charlie Blanch, 22. One of the men was in critical condition, and the other was stable, police said.

Missionary center
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."

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.

Filidis said staffers are usually former missionaries themselves and that the "mercy ministries" performed by trainees include orphanage work. He said he did not know where the group being trained in Arvada was going to be sent.

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.

[Shammu]

Group Targeted in Shooting Has Far Reach

Monday, December 10, 2007
By ERIC GORSKI, AP Religion Writer


DENVER —
Begun in 1960 after a 20-year-old college student said he experienced a vision from God, Youth With a Mission has grown into one of the world's most formidable Christian missions groups.

The group, characterized by a decentralized structure and reputation for attracting zealous young people, equips missionaries to spread the Christian faith around the world, including some of the world's most dangerous corners.

In the dark early hours of Sunday morning, what was supposed to be a safe harbor _ a YWAM training center in suburban Denver _ turned deadly when a gunman killed two staff members and injured two others.

It was the first of two church-related shootings in Colorado on Sunday. A gunman opened fire outside New Life Church in Colorado Springs in the afternoon, injuring at least four people. Police said a suspect was detained, but the conditions of the injured were not immediately released.

"You turn to God because God is our strength in all this," said Dale Lambert, an elder on the Youth With a Mission Denver leadership team. "You know what, tragedies happen in the U.S. as well as around the world. Oftentimes people think America is a lot safer, but that's not always true. We're here to serve God, wherever that leads us."

The center where the shooting took place is the base of operations for the Denver branch of Youth With a Mission.

Although the organization's name suggests otherwise, Youth With a Mission trains people of all ages and operates in more than 1,000 locations in more than 149 countries with a staff of nearly 16,000, according to the YWAM Web site.

YWAM was founded by Loren Cunningham, a Pentecostal college student who said he experienced a vision from God while on summer break with a gospel quartet in the Bahamas in 1956. Cunningham described seeing waves of young people crashing up against all the continents, standing on street corners and outside bars preaching the Gospel.

According to the organization's Web site, many early YWAM missionaries weren't even Christian but were attracted to the so-called Jesus Movement of the 1970s, which wrapped Christian teachings in a countercultural vibe.

The organization is best known for advocating short-term mission trips, opening the field to those unable to commit years of learning a language and culture.

"They're not a traditional mission association that sends someone years and years," said Dana Robert, co-director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University. "They've got their pulse on the late 20th and early 21st century generation, which is to say, 'Let's try something for a couple of years and then try something else.'

"Young people these days don't want to make a lifelong commitment."

YWAM's scope has expanded to include longer-term missions, as well. The group also has trained missionaries headed to danger zones in the Middle East and Africa, going so far as to use computer encryption software developed by oil companies to chat confidentially with missionaries in the field.

In nations where Christian proselytizing is not welcome, the interdenominational group concentrates more on relief work, Lambert said. Like many evangelical mission groups, YWAM has missionaries working in Muslim nations but does not go into detail because of restrictions on Christian proselytizing in those countries.

Lambert said the group's "mercy ministry" work includes digging wells, providing clean water and building homes. Another defining characteristic of YWAM is that its missionaries are not paid; they raise their own money to go overseas.

Because YWAM is connected to no one denomination and is so diverse both geographically and ethnically, the group is hard to pigeonhole, said Jonathan Bonk, executive director of the Overseas Missions Studies Center in New Haven, Conn.

"YWAM is very far-flung, and has an eclectic mix of people," Bonk said. "It's probably the most decentralized of all the mission organizations I'm aware of. Its members have a lot of independence."

Group Targeted in Shooting Has Far Reach

[Soldier4Christ]

One gunman responsible for Colorado shootings

The shooter at both a missionary center and a church Sunday in Colorado was a man who once worked on a mission with the center, a source familiar with the events said Monday.

 The source said the gunman -- who was killed by a security guard at the site of the second shooting -- was Matthew Murray.

The shootings left four people dead, in addition to the gunman, and five wounded.

The source -- a long-time member of New Life Church, site of the second shooting -- said Murray had a falling out with Youth With a Mission after working with the organization a couple of years ago and that he sent antagonistic and threatening correspondence afterward.

Murray fired on people at the missionary center in Arvada early Sunday, then drove to New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where the center has a satellite office, the source said.

Murray, carrying a great deal of ammunition, threw a smoke grenade into an area in which some people were gathered at the church after services, then got in his car and drove around to a different entrance, where he fired into a car -- killing two teenage girls and wounding their father, the source said.

Murray apparently fired at other cars as well, the source said.

A security guard confronted him and shot him.

The source said there were three security guards in the area of the shooting, only one of whom had a weapon. That guard fired at him, causing him to fall down, and she told him to drop his weapon, the source said. But Murray appeared to try to grab something that may have been a grenade, so the guard shot him again, the source said.

No one has spoken publicly on behalf of Murray, and authorities have not commented on the source's description of what occurred.

Earlier Monday, Brady Boyd, senior pastor of New Life Church, said the gunman was unknown to parishioners there.

"He simply showed up on our property yesterday with a gun, with the intention of hurting people, and he did," Boyd said.

Boyd said the megachurch instituted security precautions after the shootings at the Denver area mission center, saving "hundreds of lives."

A New Life parishioner acting as a security guard shot and killed the gunman after he had gotten no more than 50 feet inside the building, Boyd said.

Two teens, identified by police as Rachael Works, 16, and Stephanie Works, 18, were killed in what Boyd called "a senseless, random attack."

Boyd said the teens were sisters and were shot in the parking lot. Police said their father David Works, 51, was also shot and is hospitalized in fair condition with two gunshot wounds.

Boyd said the female security guard was a hero in preventing further bloodshed, rushing to confront the gunman just inside the church.

"She probably saved over a hundred lives," Boyd said of the guard, whom he said is not a law enforcement officer and used her personal weapon.

 Boyd put the number of people on the church campus at the time as 7,000.

Overnight police from Arvada executed a search warrant obtained by Colorado Springs police for an address in the Denver suburb of Englewood. Authorities did not say how the address may relate to the case, but public records show a Matthew Murray lived in Englewood.

Police in the two cities say different weapons were used in the shootings -- a handgun in Arvada and a rifle in Colorado Springs.

 The first incident took place Sunday at about 12:30 a.m. at Youth With a Mission in Arvada. Police said a man with a beard, wearing a dark jacket, glasses, and skullcap, entered the facility, got into a dispute with a staff member about whether he could stay there for the night, and then opened fire.

Investigators tried to track the gunman through fresh snow with the help of dogs, but lost his trail in a heavily walked area, Deputy Chief Gary Creager of Arvada police said.

Then shortly after 1 p.m. in Colorado Springs -- about 80 miles south of Arvada -- a black-clad gunman opened fire on worshippers at New Life.

 Youth With a Mission co-founder Peter Warren identified the two killed staff members as Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24. He said they were cleaning up from a Saturday night Christmas banquet when the attack occurred.

Another staff member, 24-year-old Dan Griebenow, was in critical condition with a bullet in his neck as of Sunday night, and a second survivor, Charlie Blanch, was shot in the legs, the group said on its Web site.

[Soldier4Christ]

If not for the gun carried by that female security guard there would have been many more killed or injured. Thank God she had the sense to carry one.

Another example that makes me even more convinced that honest law abiding citizens should be able to carry a gun.