Two young people were killed and two others were wounded by
a gunman who opened fire at a Christian youth mission center in Arvada,
a suburb of Denver, early Sunday.
The victims were members of the mission and were in their mid-20s, according to
police.
Police said that they didn’t know if the gunman shot at
random or picked his victims.
Susan Medina, a spokeswoman for the Arvada Police
Department, said: “He entered the facility, opened fire and four of the youth
inside that facility were injured,” the New York Times reports.
The two dead victims were identified by the Christian
mission, Youth with a Mission, as
being Tiffany Johnson, 26, of Minnesota
and Philip Crouse, 24, of Alaska.
The other two who got injured were Dan Griebenow, 24, of South
Dakota, who got shot in the neck, and Charlie Blanch,
22, in her leg.
Youth with a Mission
has offices around the world. It teaches young Americans and international
students to become missionaries in Africa, Asia
and Europe.
Peter Warren, director of Denver
operations for the group, said that the accident occurred just after midnight, after a Christmas banquet. The gunman
came up and asked Ms. Johnson if he could stay for the night. Ms. Johnson
refused him and in that moment he pulled out an automatic handgun and started
to shoot.
Ms. Medina said that the gunman fled just after the shooting
and they were tracking him with dogs. She said: “Unfortunately, he remains at
large.”
The gunman was described as being a white man in his early
20s, possibly with a beard and glasses. He was wearing a dark jacket and a dark
beanie-style skull cap, AFP informs.
Mr. Warren said: “The young man — I don’t know who he is and
I don’t think they knew him — but he must be going through a lot personally in
his own life to do something like this.”
The wounded were treated at hospitals in the Denver
area.
Police evacuated other 45 people who were in the residence
hall and put them in a location off campus.
Police also warned neighbors through calls saying that a
gunman is still at large, and to remain indoors and that they should be looking
for clues, like tracks in the snow.
Ms. Medina said: “This is a very extensive crime scene. We
have a number of people to interview.”
The mission’s website said:
"It is with great sadness that we report the shooting death of two
staff members at our YWAM Denver (Arvada)
training location. Please pray -- for the families who are on their way to Denver
-- for the critically injured young man undergoing surgery today -- for the
staff and students who have been evacuated to another location -- for the
apprehension of the gunman who fled the scene.”
