DENVER—The parents of the church gunman who killed four people said Tuesday “the healing and reconciliation have begun” after they met with the victims’ families and with a security guard who wounded their son before he committed suicide.
Matthew Murray, 24, killed two staffers at a missionary training school in suburban Denver and two teenage sisters outside New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Dec. 9.
“The depth of our sorrow and our grief is greater than we can possibly describe,” Murray’s parents, Ron and Loretta Murray, said in a written statement released Tuesday. “But with thanks to God, these remarkable families and their pastors and churches, healing and reconciliation have begun.”
The Murrays and their younger son, Chris, met Thursday at New Life with David and Marie Works, parents of the slain sisters, Stephanie, 18, and Rachel, 16. Also attending were Jeanne Assam, the volunteer security guard at New Life who shot Matthew Murray, and New Life Pastor Brady Boyd.
On Tuesday, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office confirmed earlier reports that Murray shot and killed himself. Coroner Robert Bux wrote in an autopsy report that Murray died by firing a shot into his month, The Denver Post reported.
Murray also had two gunshot wounds in his left thigh.
Toxicology test indicated Murray had ingested amphetamine and the tranquilizer benzodiazepine, which is sold under the brand name Xanax.
On Dec. 12, the Murrays met with the families of Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24, who were killed at the Youth With A Mission training center Arvada.
Police said Matthew Murray killed Johnson and Crouse in the early morning hours of Dec. 9 before driving 65 miles south to Colorado Springs, where he opened fire on hundreds of worshippers leaving a late morning service.
On Thursday, Boyd retraced Matthew Murray’s steps at New Life for his family, starting with the place where he parked his car and ending with the spot where he killed himself.
Casey Nikoloric, a friend of the Murrays, said the couple embraced Assam, “personally commending her for her courage and her swift, decisive action.”
