COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Three people were killed and at least five others wounded Sunday in two shooting sprees -- one at a missionary school and another at a church -- that authorities said could be connected. The gunman in the second incident was killed by a church security guard, police said.
The first shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m., when a man wearing a dark coat and a beanie entered the Youth With a Mission dorm in the Denver suburb of Arvada. When he asked to spend the night and was turned away, he opened fire, authorities said.
Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 23, were killed. Two other students were injured. Authorities said the gunman fled on foot and was able to elude a massive search.
More than 12 hours later and about 70 miles south, a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He fatally shot one churchgoer who was in a car and wounded at least three others; when he tried to enter the crowded mega-church, he was gunned down by a security guard.
A witness said the gunman apparently used a smoke grenade, and authorities were investigating the possibility that he might have left several explosives behind. Officials said 7,000 people were on the New Life church grounds at the time.
Police in both cities said that they were investigating whether the shootings were connected, but that they did not have conclusive evidence.
New Life had beefed up its security after hearing of the Arvada shooting, but officials did not say whether church guards normally were armed. Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said the "courageous security staffer . . . probably saved many lives."
As of late Sunday, police had not identified the dead assailant or released details about the gun he used. KUSA-TV in Denver reported that the gunman had worn body armor and a tactical helmet.
"What happened today was a real tragedy," senior New Life pastor Brady Boyd said at an evening news conference outside the church. "My heart is broken today for the people who lost their lives."
In Arvada -- a sleepy western Denver suburb where the Youth With a Mission school was housed behind another mega-church -- the mood was equally grim late Sunday.
"We are mourning the senseless loss of life of young people who were committed to bettering the lives of others," Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said at a City Hall news conference.
