Gunman: 5 weapons, 1 year

Murray acquired rifles, handguns from area stores

Kevin Vaughan and Sara Burnett

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Matthew Murray spent more than a year amassing the deadly firepower he used in Sunday's shootings in Arvada and Colorado Springs, once ordering so much ammunition that a worried store clerk called police.

On Wednesday, family and friends of two of Murray's four victims came from around the world to mourn the young missionaries killed at Youth With A Mission in Arvada.

And Murray's parents, after meeting with families of those victims, released a statement saying their thoughts and prayers were with those hurt by the killings at Youth With A Mission and New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

"We are groping for answers as we try in vain to understand the events of last Sunday," Ronald and Loretta Murray said.

Web postings written by Murray show he was angry at being kicked out of YWAM several years earlier and harbored long- standing resentment against his conservative Christian upbringing.

An employee at a UPS Store in Greenwood Village called police Sept. 13, after Murray had "multiple" boxes of ammunition delivered to a postal box there. Murray seemed nervous when he came to pick it up, the clerk told police.

But police officers said there was nothing illegal about it, and Murray was never contacted, according to a search warrant affidavit for Murray's computer.

Police said earlier this week that Murray was carrying a backpack capable of holding a thousand rounds of ammunition. It's unclear how much he actually had.

Murray, who killed four people and wounded five others in attacks on two Christian centers before killing himself, bought all five of his weapons over the past year from licensed firearms dealers.

Colorado Springs police on Wednesday confirmed information provided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

He carried three weapons

Murray had three of the weapons on him when he died at New Life Church in Colorado Springs:

* A Bushmaster XM 15 assault rifle, purchased Jan. 9 at the Sportsman's Warehouse at 14140 E. Ellsworth Ave. in Aurora.

* A Beretta .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, purchased Jan. 4 at the Sportsman's Warehouse at 555 N. Chelton Road in Colorado Springs.

* A Springfield Armory 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, purchased Sept. 11 at Dave's Guns, 1842 S. Parker Road in Denver.

In addition, investigators found an AK-47 assault rifle in the trunk of his car and a Beretta .22-caliber handgun at his Arapahoe County home.

The AK-47 was purchased Nov. 17 at Robert's Firearms, 18498 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora. The Beretta was purchased June 2 at the Aurora Sportman's Warehouse.

Murray purchased all five weapons himself, according to Colorado Springs police.

Police investigators also said Wednesday that Jeanne Assam, the church security officer who shot and wounded Murray, fired a total of 10 rounds from her Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.

Dave Anver, who operated Dave's Guns for 22 years before closing the doors in October, said Wednesday he did not recognize the photograph of Murray that has appeared in the media. Anver surrendered all of his business records to the BATF when he closed Dave's Guns and had no way of seeing whether he or one of his former employees actually sold the gun.

But he said Murray, who bought a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol from his store, would have gone through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's instant background check required in all gun purchases from licensed firearms dealers.

That system checks for criminal records, restraining orders and evidence of mental health issues before a gun sale is approved.

"If we did, the CBI approved it," Anver said of the sale.

When a prospective purchaser's information is put into the system, one of three answers comes back - an approval, a denial or a "delay," meaning that more investigation is needed.

Anver, who said he closed his business because he could no longer compete with national chains like Sportsman's Warehouse, said Colorado's system for background checks is more stringent than some in other states.

"It's really in the hands of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation whether you get a gun," Anver said. "I can tell you they err on the side of caution."

30 minutes of talk

Sunday's bloodshed began when Murray banged on the door at the YWAM dormitory in Arvada and was let in by a staff member. He talked to several staff members for about 30 minutes, then was told he could not stay the night.

He opened fire with a handgun before fleeing on foot.

Tiffany Johnson, the 26-year-old hospitality supervisor; and Philip Crouse, 24, died later of their injuries. Daniel Griebenow, 23, was critically injured, and Charles Blanch, 22, also was wounded.

Murray was next spotted around 1 p.m. in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Armed with an assault rifle and two handguns, Murray fired at least 27 shots, entering the church before he was shot by Assam.

Killed were sisters Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachel Works, 16. Their father, David Works, was injured, as were two other church members, Judy Purcell, 40, and Larry Bourbonnias, 59.

In the time between the two attacks, Murray left 11 posts on an Internet message board, the first at least two hours after the Arvada shooting, the last a few hours before the shooting in Colorado Springs.