The Murray family today released a photograph of church gunman Matthew Murray that was taken in 1998 at a family gathering.
“They’re absolutely devastated,” family spokeswoman Casey Nikloric said of Murray’s parents, Ron and Loretta.
On Sunday, Murray killed four people at two Front Range Christian organizations 70 miles apart.
Murray, 24, killed himself after shooting five people at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Sisters Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachel Works, 16, were killed in that shooting.
Earlier Sunday, at around 12:30 a.m., Murray had attacked people at a dormitory in Arvada for Youth With a Mission, a missionary group with which he was once involved.
In that shooting, Murray killed Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24. Memorial services were held Wednesday for all of Murray’s victims.
The photo shows Murray with his niece on his lap. The girl, who is unnamed, is the daughter of Murray’s 37-year-old sister, Cherise
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ron and Loretta Murray offered sympathy for the victims and said they were “lost in grief as we prepare to bury our beloved son, Matthew. We loved Matthew with all our hearts, and we are groping for answers as we try in vain to understand the events of last Sunday.”
After the memorial service in Arvada on Wednesday, the Murrays met at an undisclosed location with the Johnson and Crouse families, for about an hour each.
“The two families prayed together and wept together. The Crouse and Johnson families offered the Murrays their love and Matthew Murray their forgiveness,” said Nikloric.
Nikloric said the Murrays did not currently have access to more current images of their son.
Denver post staff writer Ann Schrader contributed to this report.
