Colorado gunman posted anti-Christian manifesto: report
DENVER, Colorado (AFP) — The gunman responsible for shootings at two religious centers in Colorado warned of his plans for the rampage in anti-Christian rants posted on the Internet, it was reported Tuesday.
Matthew Murray, who shot dead four people in separate attacks on a missionary training center and mega-church on Sunday, published more than a dozen writings online prior to his shooting spree, KUSA TV reported in Denver.
"You Christians brought this on yourselves," Murray reportedly wrote on a Web site for people who have left Pentecostal and fundamentalist religious organizations, shortly before the second of his two attacks.
"I'm coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @#%$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill. ... 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."
KUSA reported that the wording of Murray's rant mirrored language used by one of the Columbine High School gunmen, Eric Harris, before the 1999 massacre that left 12 students and a teacher dead.
Meanwhile it emerged Tuesday that Murray had killed himself following the shootings, rather than being shot dead by a security guard at the New Life evangelical church as had been previously thought.
A Colorado Springs police spokesman said the investigation by El Paso County Coroner's Office showed that Murray died from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound" following the rampage.
Murray was armed with two handguns, an assault rifle, around 1,000 rounds of ammunition and several smoke grenades as he began his assault on the New Life church, which was packed with around 7,000 worshippers.
In other postings made on the day of the shootings, Murray says goodbye to people he has corresponded with in recent months.
"You guys were awesome. It's time for me to head out and teach these (expletive) a lesson," he wrote.
"Thanks for listening and all ... even though even many of you ex-Pentecostals don't understand ...... (sic) See you all on the other side, we're leaving this nightmare behind to a better place."
The website address was not published by KUSA TV, which reported that Murray's writings were removed on Monday.
It emerged on Monday that Murray had been expelled five years ago from a program run by the Youth With a Mission training center in the Denver suburb of Arvada, the scene of his first attack where two workers were shot dead.
Police said on Monday forensic evidence found at the two shooting scenes showed both attacks were carried out by Murray acting alone.
