The first deadly shooting occurred in the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) center in Arvada, a suburb of Denver, where several people were shot in the early hours of Sunday, December 9.
Arvada Police confirmed that a dark-jacketed man with a beard, glasses and skullcap entered the YWAM facility at around 12:30 am local time and opened fire after a dispute with a staff member about whether he would be allowed to stay the night there. YWAM identified those killed as Tiffany Johnson, 26, from Minnesota, and Philip Crouse, 24, from Alaska.
"Both served as staff members at the YWAM Arvada campus.,” the group said in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife. "The third victim, Dan Griebenow, 24, has a bullet in his neck and is listed in critical but stable condition, the fourth victim Charlie Blanch, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to his legs," YWAM added.
OPENING FIRE
YWAM Denver Director Peter Warren said they had just finished a Christmas banquet when the suspect arrived and asked a 22-year-old woman from Minnesota if he could be housed for the evening. When she told him they could not house him, Warren said, the suspect opened fired with an automatic handgun, hitting four people. He made clear his group does not seek revenge for what it described as a "tragedy of great proportions."
Warren said, "The young man – I don’t know who he is; I don’t think [the victims] knew him – but he must be going through a lot personally in his own life to do something like this. Our belief is that only God is the judge and our place is to forgive and that’s a difficult thing to do, but really, I think it’s the right thing to do." YWAM was founded in 1960 and claims to operate in more than 1,000 locations in 149 countries, including in nations where Christians face persecution. The organization has a staff of nearly 16,000 who are involved in evangelism and a variety of aid programs .
Police said Monday, December 10, they do not yet know a motive for the attacks but there appeared to be a connection with the shooting several hours later at the end of a worship service at the evangelical 10,000 strong New Life Church congregation in Colorado Springs, carried out by the same gunman, who was eventually killed himself.
GUNMAN CONFRONTED
The black-clad gunman, who attacked worshippers killing one and wounding four, was killed by "a courageous security staff member," Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers told reporters. "The suspect was confronted by a security guard," Myers said. "She shot the suspect, and the suspect subsequently died at the scene." One of the wounded worshippers reportedly died late Sunday, December 10, at Penrose-St.
Francis Hospital spokeswoman Amy Sufak. Senior Pastir Brady Boyd said "Many lives were saved because of the quick action of some committed volunteers at our church," adding there were about "7,000 people were at the church," which had just completed a late-morning service when the shooting took place shortly after 1 pm local time.
The New Life Church made headlines last year when its founder and pastor, Ted Haggard, resigned after admitting to what he called "sexual immorality." Haggard had a high public profile and was a vocal supporter of President George W. Bush in 2004.
VIOLENT SOCIETY
As police continues to search for clues Monday, December 10, the latest shooting has underscored concerns about the number of weapons available in the United States and increased violence against churches and other institutions.
The Colorado shootings came just days after a teenager armed with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire on Christmas shoppers at an Omaha shopping mall in Nebraska on Wednesday, killing at least eight people before turning the gun on himself.
Last week’s mall rampage in Nebraska had already revived debate about gun crime in the United States, which authorities say is home to more than 200 million privately owned firearms for a population of just over 300 million. Congregants "came to church to worship, what happened today was a tragedy," said Pastor Boyd, who witnessed the shootings from his office. "What I experienced from my window was surreal…It’s unfortunate that we live in a society where this happens, but it does." (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos).
