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Christ Corporation Decries Religious Slayings

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Sunday evening, only hours after a brutal attack upon a missionary center and a church that left 4 people dead, Billy Christ, CEO of The Christ Corporation decried the religious slaying, stating that it was “nothing short of an abomination in the eyes of God and a testament to how invaluable the message of The Christ Corporation was to a world in need of hope.”

In his blog, Christ went on to refer to the shooter as, “a man without morals, lost and confused, and without an inkling of understanding of the financial ramification of his actions.”

Though unavailable for direct comment on the slayings, Arvin Shepherd, Associate Christ said Christ would be available at a later time. “He understands the necessity for balance between what He would like to say on the matter and what, in the time of healing that is to come, He will need to say. Families have lost loved ones and they will need Christ to guide them through their trials.”

A source said that the shooter was a man who once worked on a mission with the center.

The source went on to say that the gunman -- who was killed by a security guard at the site of the second shooting -- was Matthew Murray.

The shootings left four people dead, in addition to the gunman, and five wounded.

“It’s a tremendous loss,” said Shepherd. “When we lose those amongst us, it is always a terrible pain, but when those lost are the youth through which we hold so much hope and invest so much love, the loss is seemingly insurmountable.”

The source -- a long-time member of New Life Church, site of the second shooting -- said Murray had a falling out with Youth With a Mission after working with the organization a couple of years ago and that he sent antagonistic and threatening correspondence afterward.

     

Murray fired on people at the missionary center in Arvada early Sunday, then drove to New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where the center has a satellite office, the source said. Murray, carrying a great deal of ammunition, threw a smoke grenade into an area in which some people were gathered at the church after services, then got in his car and drove around to a different entrance, where he fired into a car -- killing two teenage girls and wounding their father, the source said.

Murray apparently fired at other cars as well, the source said.

A security guard confronted him and shot him.

The source said there were three security guards in the area of the shooting, only one of whom had a weapon. That guard fired at him, causing him to fall down, and she told him to drop his weapon, the source said. But Murray appeared to try to grab something that may have been a grenade, so the guard shot him again, the source said.

The Christ Corporation has not spoken publicly on behalf of Murray, and Shepherd gave no indication that there were plans, currently, to address him in the future. “Billy Christ will address the loss, the pain of this deceitful crime and the process of healing through Sacrificial Giving, but there are no plans to speak on behalf of a man God no longer holds in His regard.”

--February 11, 2008