A church member and a gunman died after a man opened fire at New Life Church in Colorado Springs Sunday. Three people were wounded in the shooting that took place in the church parking lot after a morning service.
Police believe the shooting was related to another attack that happened just 12 hours earlier. Two people were killed and two wounded at a training center for Youth With a Mission in Arvada, a Denver suburb. A man walked in and asked to spend the night there. After a worker at the center said no and began to discuss alternative places he could stay, the man pulled out a gun and began shooting. (See previous post).
After the New Life shooting, witnesses told the Gazette in Colorado Springs that a man in a black trench coat opened fire in the parking lot. Police said that the gunman was shot and killed by a security guard, which authorities say probably saved many lives.
New Life Church has already gone through a major transition in the last year. Former senior pastor and former National Association of Evangelicals president Ted Haggard stepped down in November 2006 after admitting to a long-term relationship with a male prostitute.
“Why would somebody walk into a church and do something like that?” New Life member Kim Ho-Sing-Loy told the Gazette. “Especially with what just happened with Pastor Ted, this church just doesn’t need this any more.”
New Life’s website says Sunday night service was canceled and the church will be closed Monday.
“It’s surreal,” Mario Garcia told the Gazette. “It’s a sad state of affairs in our country when we are not able to come to services and be safe. How do you reassure them that church is a safe place?”
Coverage includes:
Fatal church shootings may be linked (Rocky Mountain News)
Springs, Arvada attacks linked (Denver Post)
Gunman fires on parishioners (Denver Post)
4 die in Colo. church, mission attacks (Associated Press)
