Eight shot in two Colorado church incidents. [The other Gun Free Zone]

DENVER, Colo. (Reuters) - At least four people were shot in the parking lot of a large Colorado evangelical church on Sunday in the second shooting in a day linked to a religious community in the state.

Police said a gunman opened fire outside the New Life Church in Colorado Springs after Sunday services and that three to five people had been taken to local hospitals. No fatalities were reported.

Police said they had detained a suspect but gave no details about his condition or a possible motive.

In an earlier incident, 70 miles away, two people were killed and two were wounded shortly after midnight when a gunman entered a training center for young missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada, police said.

Police in the two cities said they were coordinating information but did not know whether the attacks were related.

However Paul Filidis, a spokesman for the missionary group in Arvada, said the organization did rent space for an office from the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

The New Life Church, which has about 14,000 members, was founded by pastor Ted Haggard, who resigned in disgrace in 2006 after admitting to sexually immoral conduct.

Police cordoned off the New Life Church and locked down several local buildings. Colorado Springs Police Lt. Fletcher Howard said police were not sure if a second gunman was at large. One eyewitness told CNN he saw a young man wearing combat boots and with an assault rifle and a handgun.

Rob Brendle, associate pastor at the New Life Church, told Reuters by telephone: "It's been a dramatic day and we are participating with the police investigation right now but we are not at liberty to make a comment right now."

In Arvada, two youth missionary staff members were shot and killed by a young man who came to the door of the Youth With a Mission dormitory asking for a place to stay, the group said in a statement.

When he was told he could not be accommodated there, he pulled out a handgun and opened fire. Two other staffers, who were cleaning up after a Christmas party, were wounded before the gunman ran away.

The Mission is an international and interdenominational organization that trains young people to work as missionaries.

"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," Mission spokesman Filidis said in a statement

Additional reporting by Steven Saint in Colorado Springs and Ed Stoddard in Dallas, writing by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles, editing by Eric Walsh in Washington)

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Is carry in places of worship against the law in CO, or does those particular churches have a "no guns" rule? A co-worker and I were just discussing it and I can't find a statute prohibiting it.

It is prohibited in VA "without good and sufficient reason", for which self defense may qualify. WY prohibits CC but not OC, and NC doesn't address it except for prohibiting carry in funeral processions.


edited to make 'church' plural

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ARVADA, Colo. — Three persons were killed and six others were injured yesterday in separate attacks at two Colorado religious sites. A church security guard killed a suspect in one of the shootings.

A suspect, identified only as a white man in his 20s wearing dark clothing, was killed shortly after he began firing at parishioners at about 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. A church member, reportedly a teenage girl, was killed in the attack.

Nearly 12 hours earlier, a gunman opened fire at Youth With a Mission in Arvada, an international missionary training center on the Faith Bible Chapel campus, killing two missionaries and wounding two others. In that incident, the shooter was described as a white man in his 20s wearing a black coat and black beanie-style cap.

Police in Arvada and Colorado Springs said last night that they were working together to determine whether the two shootings were carried out by the same gunman. The mission training program has a small office at the church's World Prayer Center on the New Life campus.

Arvada, a suburb of Denver, is about 70 miles away from Colorado Springs.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. called in the Colorado Information Analysis Center, the Department of Public Safety, the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to provide local authorities with assistance.

"Violent crimes of any sort are tragic enough, but when innocent people are killed in a religious facility or a place of worship, we must voice a collective sense of outrage and demonstrate a renewed commitment to keeping our communities safe," he said.

Peter Warren, director of Youth With a Mission Denver, said the victims were cleaning up after a Christmas party at about 12:30 a.m. when the gunman arrived at the mission facility on the Faith Bible Chapel campus and asked whether he could stay the night.

Tiffany Johnson, the facility"s hospitality director, told him the center was a dormitory, not a shelter, said Mr. Warren, who added that he received the account from students at the scene.

"This is what I"ve got for you," Mr. Warren said the gunman replied before he began firing with an automatic handgun.

Miss Johnson, 26, of Minnesota, and Philip Crouse, 24, of Alaska, were killed in the attack. Dan Griebenow, 24, of South Dakota, was hit in the neck and was in critical but stable condition. Charles Blanch, 22, was in fair condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg.

"It"s a horrible event that has happened to innocent people," Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said at a press conference last night.

He said Arvada police used a canine unit to follow tracks in the snow for several hours to search for the gunman. The search was called off when the footprints became "commingled" with others.

Despite the similarities between the two incidents, Chief Wick called the investigation "active and ongoing."

"Until we conclusively determine who"s responsible for this, we will continue to pursue all leads," he said.

Hundreds of New Life parishioners attending the noon service were leaving the building and heading to their cars when gunfire erupted in the parking lot. The gunman, who also might have had a bomb or other incendiary device on him, ran into the church foyer.

Police arrived within three minutes, but by then a church security guard killed the suspect.

"When the officers arrived, they found the active shooter had been shot by a security squad member, a courageous security squad member who probably saved many lives," said Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers. "The suspect was subsequently found to be dead."

A church member was killed in the attack. Four others were shot and taken to hospitals, although their names and information about their conditions were not released yesterday. Chief Myers said some of the wounded sustained "life-threatening injuries."

The Rev. Brady Boyd of New Life Church said he called in additional security for yesterday"s services after learning of the Arvada shooting.

"I"m proud of the way our team responded today," he said. "We had a plan in place ... and it worked well. Many, many lives were saved because of the quick action of some committed volunteers at our church."

Mr. Boyd said he "watched the events unfold" from his second-floor office window after his secretary heard gunshots.

"What I experienced watching from my window was surreal," he said.

New Life, a 10,000-member mega-church and one of the state's largest, was founded by Ted Haggard, who resigned a year ago after admitting that he had paid for sex with a male prostitute. He also admitted to purchasing methamphetamine from the prostitute, though he said he never tried it. Mr. Haggard was replaced by Mr. Boyd in August.

Police were searching the church building last night for explosives after finding "several suspicious devices," said Chief Myers.

•This article is based in part on wire service reports.

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Police arrived within three minutes, but by then a church security guard killed the suspect

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Well, I know that it is perfectly legal to carry in churches here in KY (unless posted otherwise).

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I saw the pastor being interviewed. He said the volunteer security guard went to the early service and helped out as a security person after she went to worship. She used her own personal weapon and had a license to carry. She was in plain clothes, not a uniform. Sounds like to me that she was a churchmember who did security for the church as an unpaid volunteer - basically a civilian!

I hope the press picks up on this fact, that an ordinary church goer can be armed security.

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On the new's this morning here in Michigan they reported an armed church security guard killed the shooter.

Also, here in Michigan if you have permission from the church you can carry @ the church.




http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7474773

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