UPDATED 4:55 PM PT - The following was just posted at KJCT8.com regarding more of the alleged web entry from Matthew Murray.
"God, I can't wait till I can kill you people. Feel no remorse, no sense of shame, I don't care if I live or die in the shoot-out. All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."
I'm not sure about you, but this tragedy in Colorado has really grieved my heart these past few days. I always feel sad because these events hurt so many, and often the killers involved miss how much God really loves them.
The picture you are looking at is Matthew Murray, the young man who decided to shoot to kill on Sunday at both the New Life Church and Youth with a Mission. The picture was taken five years ago as he performed in a Christmas program. His roommate at the time is reported as having took this picture.
CNN is reporting that Matthew Murray died of a self-inflicted wound and are ruling his death a suicide. Apparently Matthew shot himself after he was fired upon by Jeanne Assam, who is being hailed as a heroine for her bravery and quick thinking, and saving hundreds, if not thousands of lives.
In the same article from CNN it is being reported that Murray is the author of the following message he allegedly posted prior to the first shooting at YWAM.
The message attributed to Matthew Murray -- using the screen name "nghtmrchld26" -- mirrored the wording of a warning posted in 1999 by Eric Harris before he and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School.
"I'm coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @.%$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill," the posting obtained by CNN affiliate KUSA-TV read. This was the same wording used by Harris, with the exception of symbols used to replace an expletive.
Murray, who lived in Englewood, Colorado, just 13 miles from the Columbine campus, titled his entry "You Christians brought this on yourselves." It was published on a Web site for people who had left Pentecostal and fundamentalist religious groups.
According to an article in the New York Times, Murray, "had been ejected from the training program in Arvada (YWAM) about three years ago and had been sending hate mail there."
ABC News is also reporting that Murray's family is asking for forgiveness for the actions of Matthew Murray.
The Rev. Phil Abeyta, Murray's uncle, spoke on behalf of the family, who he said are grief-striken over the shootings.
"On behalf of our family and our son we ask for forgiveness," Abeyta said in a statement. "We cannot understand why this has happened. We ask for prayer for the victims and their families during this time of grief."
Another article from The Herald Sun adds additional details saying that Murray "hated Christians" and that he was homeschooled.
We here, at the persecution blog, offer our love and sympathies to the families of Matthew Murray and all the victims he injured or killed. We would also ask that you all keep these families and organizations in your prayers over the coming days. Memorial services are said to be held possibly later this week.
