Police identified the man who carried out two deadly rampages Sunday at a megachurch and a Youth With a Mission training center as Matthew J. Murray, a 24-year-old man who “hated Christians.”
Five people were killed during two separate shootings that took place 12 hours apart and 70 miles away from each other. (See previous post)
Murray had recently sent “hate mail” to YWAM after being kicked out of the program three years ago, a search warrant affidavit says, according to the Rocky Mountain News.
“It appears that the suspect had been kicked out of that program approximately three years prior, and during the past few weeks, had sent different forms of hate mail to the program, and/or its director,” Colorado Springs Detective Bradley Pratt wrote Sunday in a statement supporting of search warrant for Murray’s family home.
Murray, armed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and four weapons killed two teenage sisters and wounded their father and two others.
He fired numerous rounds in the parking lot before entering the church, where he was killed by a security guard. The guard fired as many as six bullets into him, according to the Denver Post.
New Life Pastor Brady Boyd said the church’s security guard who killed the Murray was a “hero.” He said she is normally his personal security guard, but on Sunday was on the lookout for danger following reports of a shooting at a Christian ministry near Denver earlier in the day that left two dead. He said she has a background in law enforcement but is not currently a law enforcement officer.
According to the Gazette in Colorado Springs, Fourth Judicial District Attorney John Newsome, said in a statement released today that shots fired by the guard appeared to “not only be appropriate, but also justified under Colorado law.” He said that his office is still reviewing the incident.
“Any New Testament church is under attack and duress. It’s unique to us as westerners to think that when we come under attack there’s something wrong with the church,” which isn’t true, Boyd said to the Rocky Mountain News.
Police are scheduled to hold a news conference at 5 p.m. (Central).
