Sadness All-Around

I don't know quite what to title this. What I want to talk about is the recent spree killing by a young, angry, disaffected, and possibly mentally ill man in Colorado who killed 4 at two locations before he was engaged and killed by church volunteer, a concealed handgun permit holder, who prayed to God as she moved forward to engage him.

Much as been made of many things and many folks have an agenda in reporting. Ranging from self-serving sensationalism to attempts to minimize her act by referring to her as a former police officer and/or armed security personnel, to trumpeting her as a normal CHP holder or to mention that he was home-schooled by very religious parents.

It isn't my intent to dissect the semantics of the reporting. Rather, I'd like to give my look at it.

The facts are that Matthew Murray, age 24, shot 4 killing 2 at Youth With a Mission, a training center for missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada and New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where Murray was shot by a church member acting as security for the church.

The truth about the killer is likely difficult to know. There are likely many contributing factors to have brought this young to the point where he chose to hurt others. Jeanne Assam, a church member who volunteers as a security guard, shot Murray defending what has been reported as many hundreds.

Any person who moves to the sound of gunfire, to defend others, who takes on a rifleman with a handgun, that person exemplifies courage. Anyone who kills innocents for their own selfish ends, that exemplifies evil.

My condolences to the families of all those killed, even Matthew Murray, while the dead are deposed as God sees fit, the living must deal with their own grief.