In the early morning hours of December 9, 2007, 24-year-old Matthew John Murray opened fire at the Youth With A Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado, killing two and wounding two others before escaping. Later that afternoon, he attacked the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with a number of firearms, killing two more people and injuring three before being shot by Jeanne Assam, a member of the church's safety team. Murray then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
Shootings
Arvada missionary shooting
Around 12:30 a.m. MST (07:30 UTC), following a Christmas banquet that had taken place earlier that night, Matthew Murray knocked on the door of the Youth With A Mission facility. Murray asked personnel in the youth center if he could stay overnight; when he was refused, Murray opened fire with a 9mm handgun, killing Tiffany Johnson, the center's Director of Hospitality, and staff member Philip Crouse, as well as wounding Dan Griebenow in the neck and Charlie Blanch in the leg.
After the incident, the YWAM base evacuated its 80 people to the mountain campus in Black Hawk, 45 of whom were in the building at the time of the shooting. Local police quickly conducted a canine search of the surrounding area, searching for the shooter; they hoped that fresh snow would help them track the suspect, but were unable to locate him. A reverse 911 call went out to residents of the neighborhood to let them know a shooting suspect might be in their area.
New Life Church shooting
At about 1:00 p.m. MST (20:00 UTC), more than thirty minutes after the 11:00 a.m. sermon had ended at New Life Church, Murray opened fire in the church parking lot with a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle, shooting at the Works family as they entered their vehicle. He killed Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachel Works, 16, and critically wounded their father, David Works, by shooting him multiple times.
Church member and bystander Judy Purcell was wounded in the shoulder when attempting to enter her vehicle; she survived her injuries. Murray directed gunfire towards other vehicles during his shooting spree within the New Life Church parking lot, including narrowly missing church patron Christina Wilke after riddling her vehicle with a volley of bullets from his semi-automatic rifle, missing Wilke with his gunfire by approximately four inches. Murray then entered the building's main foyer where he wounded Larry Bourbonnais, as Bourbonnais was attempting to yell at Murray to distract Murray from hurting others. Bourbonnais was lightly wounded in the forearm with shrapnel.
At this point, church member Jeanne Assam, a New Life Church security volunteer, who was herself a former Minneapolis Police Department law enforcement officer, opened fire upon Murray. Assam shot Murray 10 times, striking him in both the femoral and carotid arteries using her Beretta 92 FS 9mm handgun. The incident was fully witnessed by Larry Bourbonnais, who later repeatedly conveyed to national news interests that, "It was the bravest thing I've ever seen." Assam later publicly acknowledged that she had asked God to be with her as she took on this active shooter. Murray then fatally shot himself in the head with the same handgun he used in the earlier YWAM shooting. He fired a total of 42 rounds during the entire shooting spree; 15 at YWAM and 27 at New Life Church, including the self-inflicted shot.
Aftermath
After the New Life Church shooting, Assam later stated that "God guided me and protected me [and I] did not think for a minute to run away" when a reporter asked her if she had.
On December 13, 2007, Murray's family issued a statement saying that it was "groping for answers" and issued an apology.
The pastor of the church stated that Assam shot Murray before he entered inside the building, after she encountered him in the hallway, and that Assam probably saved "over 100 lives."
Following the shooting spree, Colorado Springs Police Department officers searched the church campus looking for suspicious devices. Colorado governor Bill Ritter ordered state authorities to help investigate. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also came to the site to assist.
It was not immediately known whether the shootings were related to an earlier Arvada missionary shooting, away. Prior to the second shooting, police were already conducting an investigation at Murray's home.
Police said the description of the gunman in the second shooting was similar to the first: a white male wearing a dark hat and dark jacket.