Missionary centre shooting victim 'an amazingly beautiful person'

A gunman killed two members of staff at a US missionary training centre after being told he could not spend the night there.

The shooting happened at about 12.30am yesterday at the Youth With a Mission centre in Colorado, police spokeswoman Susan Medina said.

A man and a woman were killed and two men were wounded, Ms Medina said.

All four were staff members of the centre in Arvada, a Denver suburb, said Paul Filidis, a Colorado Springs-based spokesman with Youth With a Mission.

Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said the suspect spent several minutes speaking with people inside the dorm.

Peter Warren, director of Youth With a Mission Denver, said the man asked whether he could spend the night.

Several youths called on Tiffany Johnson, the centre’s director of hospitality.

“The director of hospitality was called. That’s when he opened fire,” Mr Warren said.

Ms Johnson, 26, was killed.

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

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.

Authorities in Arvada said no one had been captured in the shootings.

In addition to Ms Johnson, Philip Crouse, 23, was also killed.

Youth With a Mission said Ms Johnson was from Minnesota and Mr Crouse was from Alaska.

The missionary centre identified the wounded as Dan Griebenow, 24, and Charlie Blanch, 22.

One of the men was in a critical condition, and the other was stable, police said.

About 45 people were evacuated from the Youth with a Mission dormitory and moved to an undisclosed location.

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

Cheril Morrison, wife of chapel pastor George Morrison, said Mr Crouse had just hung up Christmas lights at her home and that Ms Johnson was “an amazingly beautiful person”.

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

Mr Filidis said staffers are usually former missionaries themselves and that the “mercy ministries” performed by trainees include orphanage work.

He said he didn’t know where the group being trained in Arvada was going to be sent.

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

It was not immediately known whether the Denver shooting was linked to another shooting later yesterday at a church in Colorado Springs.

Arvada authorities said they were sharing information with Colorado Springs investigators.