Police hunt gunman who killed 2 at missionary center
(CNN) — Police used dogs Sunday to search for a gunman who they said shot four people, killing two of them, at a Colorado training center for missionaries.
Police hoped the fresh snow would help them track the shooter, who apparently fled on foot after the early morning shooting, Susan Medina of the Arvada Police Department said.
She described the gunman as a white male, roughly 20 years of age, wearing a dark jacket. He may have a beard or mustache and may be wearing glasses, Medina said. She added, We believe he may be wearing a dark skull cap or beanie.
Police confirmed that two of the four people shot early Sunday at the live-in training center for young Christian missionaries were dead, and identified them as Tiffany Johnson and Philip Crouse. Watch update from Arvada, Colorado
At about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, the gunman entered a building where Youth With a Mission members were cleaning up from a Christmas banquet, said Peter Warren, the center’s co-founder.
He asked for housing for the night, Warren said, which Johnson refused to give him.
She said, ‘We really can’t do that right now,’ Warren said.
And then he opened fire.
Johnson, 26, was from Minnesota and Crouse, 24, was from Alaska, police said in a statement. The two other shooting victims are men, ages 22 and 23, police said. One is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition.
Warren said both Johnson and Crouse died in surgery. He said the man in critical condition had a bullet wound in his neck and the other had wounds in his legs.
Paul Filidis from the Youth With a Mission Colorado Springs office identified the wounded men as Charlie Blanch and Dan Griebenow, CNN affiliate KUSA reported. Both are Youth with a Mission staff members, according to the organization’s Web site.
Johnson has been affiliated with the organization since 2006, and joined the staff in spring 2007, the Web site says.
Warren said a memorial service for the two dead would likely be held Tuesday or Wednesday. These kids were like our kids, you know? he told KUSA. It’s just such a tragedy.
Warren said the center was bringing the 80 or so other people who live at the Arvada campus to the group’s mountain campus in Golden, Colorado.
We’re just going to be honest, and pray for one another, and cry with one another, he said.
There were about 45 people in the building when the shooter entered, Medina said, and those who weren’t wounded were transported to an off-site location where police are interviewing them, she said.
The center is home to dozens of young people from all over the world who are being trained as Christian missionaries, according to the center’s Web site.
Two reverse 911 calls have gone out to residents of the neighborhood to let them know a shooting suspect might be in the area, she said. She urged residents to stay vigilant and call police if they spot anything suspicious.
Youth With a Mission was founded in 1960, and now operates in more than 1,000 locations in 149 countries, according to its Web site. The organization has a staff of nearly 16,000.
Arvada is a Denver, Colorado, suburb with a population of about 105,000, according to the city’s Web site.
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