Tiffany Johnson, 26, had cleaned the home of Paul and Nancy Blumenberg, says Paul, who added she had done so several times in the past. Johnson had told the family that she hoped to marry her boyfriend, 24-year-old Dan Griebenow, who also was shot and is listed in critical condition at a local hospital. One other man was killed and another wounded.
Another member of the church and fellow YWAM student, who asked not to be identified because he is traveling overseas, knew Tiffany for two years. “She was just so full of life,” he said. “She was always smiling and so kind to everybody.”
The student says friends have flown in from around the country to help him and others deal with the tragedy. “I’m trying to take care of myself the best I can,” he said, but added, “I haven’t slept much at all.”
The student, who was not present when the shooting occurred, knows dealing with the different emotions will take time. “I feel sad, angry, in denial,” he said. “I just have to feel what I feel.”
YWAM has brought in counselors to help the students, who have been moved to another ministry facility, he said. The students were being released today, however, to return to the campus.
Authorities have said a 24-year-old man who was asked to leave the YWAM program several years ago was responsible for the shooting, which took place at 12:30 a.m. Sunday following a YWAM Christmas party. The man had talked with students for about half an hour before he started shooting.
Several members of the church living near the campus received reverse 9-11 calls shortly after the shootings occurred, says pastor John Martz. “It kind of rattled a number of our people.” Emergency officials make the calls to notify people of a potential danger.
Martz said few people at the church’s 8 a.m. service, including him, knew of the shooting. Most people at the second service had heard by the time they arrived.
Authorities say the same gunman later shot and killed two teenage sisters and wounded their father in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. A woman volunteering as a security guard exchanged shots with the man, wounding him several times before he killed himself, according to the local coroner.
The shooter had carried a grudge against YWAM ever since he was asked to leave the program four years ago, authorities said.
