Matthew Murray and the 2007 Colorado Church Shootings
Overview
Matthew John Murray was a 24-year-old gunman responsible for two connected shootings at Christian religious organizations in Colorado on December 9, 2007. The attacks occurred approximately twelve hours apart and more than 60 miles from each other. Murray first opened fire at a Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada and later attacked New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He killed four people and wounded five others before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being confronted and shot by an armed church security volunteer.
The victims included two young staff members at the missionary center and two teenage sisters attending New Life Church with their family. Murray arrived at both locations carrying firearms and large quantities of ammunition. Investigators concluded that the same gunman committed both attacks, linking the incidents through physical evidence, witness descriptions and weapons recovered after Murray’s death.
Background of Matthew Murray
Matthew Murray lived with his parents in Englewood, Colorado. He had been raised in a deeply religious household and had previously attended a missionary training program operated by Youth With a Mission, commonly known as YWAM. In 2002, he enrolled in a program connected to the organization’s Arvada facility but did not complete it.
Murray was dismissed from the program after staff members became concerned about his behavior. The dismissal reportedly prevented him from participating in an overseas missionary assignment, and investigators later found indications that he remained resentful toward the organization. In the years following his departure, he communicated angrily about Christianity, religious institutions and people he believed had rejected or mistreated him.
Before the shootings, Murray made threatening and hostile statements on internet discussion boards. Some of his writings reflected anger toward religious organizations, while others referred to violence and previous mass shootings. These postings became an important part of the later investigation, although authorities determined that Murray acted alone.
The Youth With a Mission Shooting
The first attack occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 9, 2007, at the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado. The facility was located near Faith Bible Chapel and provided housing and instruction for young missionaries and staff members.
A Christmas banquet had taken place at the center earlier that evening. Approximately 45 people were still inside when Murray arrived and knocked on a door. He asked whether he could stay at the facility for the night. Staff members told him that they could not provide him with lodging but offered to help him find another place to stay.
After being refused permission to remain at the center, Murray produced a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and began shooting. Four staff members were struck. Tiffany Johnson, the center’s director of hospitality, and Philip Crouse, a staff member, suffered fatal injuries. Dan Griebenow and Charlie Blanch were wounded but survived.
Murray fled before police arrived. Officers searched the surrounding neighborhood with police dogs and issued warnings to nearby residents. Fresh snow covered the area, but investigators were unable to locate the shooter. The people remaining inside the YWAM building were evacuated to another facility while police processed the scene and began identifying the attacker.
Victims at Youth With a Mission
- Tiffany Johnson, 26 — Killed on December 9, 2007, at the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado. Johnson was the center’s director of hospitality.
- Philip Crouse, 24 — Killed on December 9, 2007, at the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado. Crouse was a staff member at the missionary center.
- Dan Griebenow, 24 — Wounded during the shooting at the Youth With a Mission center. He was shot in the neck and survived.
- Charlie Blanch, 22 — Wounded during the shooting at the Youth With a Mission center. He was shot in the leg and survived.
The Hours Between the Attacks
Following the Arvada shooting, Murray traveled south toward Colorado Springs. Investigators were already examining his possible connection to the missionary center when the second attack occurred. The distance between Arvada and Colorado Springs is approximately 65 to 70 miles, requiring Murray to travel through the Denver metropolitan area and along Interstate 25.
During this period, New Life Church was holding Sunday services. Thousands of people were present on its large campus. Church leaders had learned about the earlier YWAM shooting and increased security because New Life Church had organizational and personal connections to the missionary group. Armed volunteer security personnel were positioned around the building.
The New Life Church Shooting
At approximately 1:00 p.m. on December 9, 2007, Murray arrived at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He was dressed in dark clothing and carried a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic rifle, handguns and a backpack containing loaded magazines and ammunition.
Murray began firing in the church parking lot as worshippers were leaving services. He targeted members of the Works family as they approached their vehicle. Stephanie Works, 18, and her sister Rachel Works, 16, were fatally shot. Their father, David Works, was struck multiple times and critically wounded but survived.
Murray continued firing at people and vehicles in the parking lot. Church member Judy Purcell was shot and wounded while attempting to reach her vehicle. Bullets also struck other vehicles as frightened worshippers ran for cover or attempted to drive away from the area.
After attacking people outside, Murray entered the church’s main foyer. Larry Bourbonnais, a church member, attempted to distract him by shouting. Bourbonnais suffered a minor wound to his forearm from gunfire or flying fragments but survived.
Confrontation with Jeanne Assam
Jeanne Assam, a church member and volunteer security officer, confronted Murray inside the building. Assam had previous law-enforcement experience and was carrying a handgun as part of the church’s security team. When she encountered Murray, she ordered him to surrender and then fired when he continued to present a threat.
Assam struck Murray several times, seriously wounding him and stopping his movement farther into the church. Murray then used one of his own handguns to shoot himself. He died inside the building before he could reach the larger congregation areas.
The confrontation prevented Murray from continuing an attack in a church complex occupied by thousands of people. Police later found that he had brought multiple weapons and an extensive supply of ammunition, indicating that he had prepared for a prolonged assault.
Victims at New Life Church
- Stephanie Works, 18 — Killed on December 9, 2007, in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Rachel Works, 16 — Killed on December 9, 2007, in the parking lot of New Life Church. She was Stephanie Works’s younger sister.
- David Works, 51 — Critically wounded while with his daughters in the New Life Church parking lot. He survived after being shot multiple times.
- Judy Purcell, 40 — Wounded in the shoulder during the parking-lot attack at New Life Church. She survived.
- Larry Bourbonnais, 59 — Wounded in the forearm while attempting to distract Murray inside New Life Church. He survived.
Weapons and Ammunition
Investigators recovered several firearms connected to Murray. A 9mm Springfield Armory semiautomatic handgun was used during the YWAM attack. At New Life Church, Murray carried a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle and additional handguns, including a .40-caliber Beretta. Another firearm was found at his family’s home.
Murray carried numerous loaded magazines in a backpack. Additional ammunition and another rifle were reportedly found in his vehicle. Authorities estimated that he possessed thousands of rounds of ammunition between the equipment carried on his body, the contents of his vehicle and supplies found during searches connected to the investigation.
Evidence showed that Murray fired approximately 15 rounds at the YWAM center and approximately 27 rounds during the New Life Church attack, including the final self-inflicted shot. His weapons, ammunition and tactical preparation demonstrated that the second shooting could have produced far more casualties had he not been confronted quickly.
Investigation and Motive
Police departments in Arvada and Colorado Springs worked with state authorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Ballistic evidence, witness accounts and items recovered from Murray established that he carried out both shootings.
Investigators examined Murray’s history with Youth With a Mission, his communications and his online writings. His resentment over being dismissed from the missionary program appeared to be a significant factor in his selection of the Arvada facility. His broader hostility toward Christian institutions and religious authority also appeared throughout material reviewed after the attacks.
No evidence established that Murray belonged to an organized group or had an accomplice. Authorities concluded that he planned and committed the shootings alone. Although his writings revealed anger, isolation and violent thoughts, the precise combination of personal grievances and psychological factors that led him to murder four people could not be reduced to a single explanation.
Aftermath
The attacks deeply affected both religious communities. Youth With a Mission mourned Tiffany Johnson and Philip Crouse while supporting the two wounded staff members. At New Life Church, the deaths of Stephanie and Rachel Works devastated their family and congregation. Their father faced a lengthy recovery from his injuries while grieving the deaths of both daughters.
Murray’s family released a public statement expressing sorrow and apologizing to the victims and their families. They stated that they were struggling to understand his actions and offered their condolences to everyone affected by the shootings.
The attack also led religious organizations throughout the United States to reconsider security procedures. New Life Church’s decision to use trained volunteer security personnel was credited with limiting the death toll. The shootings became a prominent example of how two geographically separated attacks could be committed by the same gunman within a matter of hours.
Final Death and Injury Count
Matthew Murray killed four people during the December 9, 2007, attacks. Two victims died at the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada, and two died at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Five additional people were wounded. Murray was also killed, bringing the total number of deaths connected to the shootings to five when the perpetrator is included.
The murders of Tiffany Johnson, Philip Crouse, Stephanie Works and Rachel Works remain the central human loss of the attacks. Their deaths transformed what began as a personal grievance into one of Colorado’s most significant religious-site shooting incidents of the decade.
