Two Colorado shootings, same shooter?

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – First the unthinkable happened: A man shot four members of a Christian ministry at the group’s training center near Denver early Sunday, killing two, including a Minnesotan, after insisting that he be allowed to spend the night.A second Minnesotan and another person were wounded.

Then the incomprehensible happened.

Twelve hours later, a gunman shot five people at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, 65 miles to the south, killing one church member before being shot dead by an armed security guard.

Could the incidents be related?

Late Sunday in Arvada, Police Chief Don Wick told the Rocky Mountain News: “We have reason to believe that the two may be related.” Asked whether that meant a single gunman was responsible for both crime scenes, Wick declined to elaborate.

The gunman at the New Life Church was shot by the security guard after entering the church’s main foyer with a high-powered rifle shortly before 1 p.m. and opening fire, Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said.

A church member died of wounds inflicted by the gunman, Senior Pastor Brady Boyd said. Four others were shot and wounded at the church, where hundreds of people were milling about and parents were picking up their children from the nursery after the 11 a.m. service let out.

Late Sunday, police were using a robot to determine whether the dead gunman had a bomb strapped to his body, the Denver Post reported on its website (denverpost.com).

Authorities also were combing the grounds hours after the incident looking for “suspicious devices,” the Post said, quoting Sgt. Mark Steven of the Colorado Springs Police Department.

KUSA-TV in Denver reported that the gunman had worn body armor and a tactical helmet.Arvada police said they were sharing information with Colorado Springs investigators. The missionary training program in Arvada has a small office at the World Prayer Center on the New Life campus.

’Saved many lives’

Police arrived at the New Life Church to find that the gunman had already been killed by the security guard, Police Chief Myers said. “There was a courageous staff member who probably saved many lives here today,” he said.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter ordered state authorities to help investigate. The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting.

Officers found several smoke-generating devices on the church campus, Myers said. Their intended purpose wasn’t clear.

Three of the injured were taken to Penrose Community Hospital in Colorado Springs, said hospital spokeswoman Amy Sufak. One person was in critical condition and another in fair condition. The third was treated and released, and the fourth was treated at the scene of the shooting, Myers said.

New Life was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was fired last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him. The New Life Church is one of Colorado’s largest, with about 10,000 members.About 7,000 people were on the campus at the time of the shooting, Boyd said. Security at the church had been beefed up after the early morning shootings in Arvada, he said.

The gunman in Arvada killed Tiffany Johnson, 26, of Chisholm, Minn., the missionary center’s director of hospitality, and a male staffer, police spokeswoman Susan Medina said. One of the wounded is another Minnesotan, Charles Blanch, 22, of Burnsville.

Wick, the Arvada police chief, said the suspect spent several minutes speaking with people inside the dormitory at the center. Peter Warren, director of Youth With a Mission Denver, said the man asked whether he could spend the night. Several youths called on Johnson.

“That’s when he opened fire,” Warren said.

He said he didn’t know whether any of the students or staff knew the gunman, adding, “We don’t know why” he came to the dormitory.A description

Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap, who left on foot. He may have glasses or a beard.

Police with dogs searched the area through the night, and residents of nearby homes were notified by reverse 911 to be on the lookout. Medina said residents were asked to look out their windows for any tracks left in the snow during the night.

In addition to Johnson, killed in Arvada was Philip Crouse, 23, of Alaska. The missionary center identified the other wounded person as Dan Griebenow, 24, of South Dakota, Johnson’s boyfriend.

The Youth With a Mission dormitory was evacuated and about 45 people moved to an undisclosed location.

The missionary center is on the grounds of the Faith Bible Chapel.

Darv Smith, director of a Youth With a Mission center in Boulder, Colo., said people ranging from their late teens to their 70s undergo a 12-week course at the center that prepares them to be missionaries. He said the center trains about 300 people a year.

Youth With a Mission was started in 1960 and now has 1,100 locations with 16,000 full-time staffers, Smith said. The Arvada center was founded in 1984.