Shooter kills two in religious dorm

A GUNMAN walked into a dormitory for young Christian missionaries in the US yesterday and opened fire, killing two people and wounding two others.

The gunman was still missing last night.

The shooting happened just after midnight at the Youth With a Mission centre in Arvada, a suburb of Denver in Colorado, police spokeswoman Susan Medina said. About 45 people were evacuated from the dormitory.

Ms Medina said a man and a woman in their mid-20s died, and two men aged 22 and 23 were wounded.

Paul Filidis, a spokesman with Youth With a Mission, said all four of the victims were staff members. One of the injured men was in critical condition, he said.

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

“There’s no blueprint for this, we’re just going to pray for one another,” said centre director Peter Warren.

Police with several dogs searched the area, and residents of nearby homes were notified to be on the lookout. Ms Medina said residents were asked to check if the snow had been disturbed during the night.

Darv Smith, director of a Youth With a Mission centre in Boulder, said people from their late teens to their 70s undergo a 12-week course that prepares them to be missionaries.