COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A church member who suffered minor injuries in the fatal shootings at New Life Church was escorted off church grounds by police a week later because New Life officials thought he was “volatile” and might be disruptive.
Senior Pastor Brady Boyd said New Life will seek a restraining order against the member, Larry Bourbonnais, but he declined to discuss the reasons.
“We pastor people and care for people and sometimes there’s disagreements,” Boyd told The Associated Press Monday. “And that’s just the nature of a family and a church.”
Boyd said earlier that church officials would contact Bourbonnais to try to reach an “amicable” resolution. He didn’t elaborate.
Bourbonnais had gone to New Life Sunday to attend a service but left peacefully when asked, police said.
“We felt he was a bit volatile this morning, and we did not want any disruption to our service,” Boyd said. He said police were already stationed at the church.
Bourbonnais, 59, suffered minor injuries to his arm from a bullet fragment when Matthew Murray opened fire Dec. 9, killing two teenage sisters and injuring three other people, including Bourbonnais. Murray killed himself after he was wounded by a volunteer security guard.
Earlier in the day, Murray had killed two other people at a missionary training center in Arvada.
Bourbonnais had no listed number. He told KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs that New Life officials were unhappy over his criticism of another security guard who Bourbonnais said would not confront the gunman.
“They said I denigrated the security staff and made them look bad,” Bourbonnais said.
Bourbonnais had told the Rocky Mountain News last week that he saw two armed guards during the shootings, “but they weren’t doing anything. I asked one of them to give me their gun so I could take the guy out.” He said he then saw a guard shoot Murray.
Police said Bourbonnais wasn’t difficult.
“He cooperated, and we told him that he wasn’t welcome back on the property,” police Sgt. Lonnie Spanswick said.
