David Works and his family expected Dec. 9, 2007, to be a normal Sunday — a day of church, reflection and relaxation.
"We were just getting settled in (after climbing in their minivan to leave church). I was in the passenger seat, Rachel behind me, Stephanie behind her mom. Rachel hadn't gotten in yet; she was fussing with her purse. I was just fastening the seat belt and I heard a loud bang. I looked around and I saw this guy in black. He started shooting us up," David Works, 52, said Thursday.
By the time the shooter, Matthew Murray, 24, left the Workses' vehicle to continue his attack inside Colorado Springs' New Life Church that day, David Works' two daughters were bleeding to death.
Stephanie, 18, died at the scene. Rachel, 16, lived for nine hours before dying at the hospital.
"Not a day goes by that you don't miss your daughters — it is with me all the time," said Works, who was wounded in the attack.
The girls were among four people whom Murray killed before putting a bullet into his head after a church security guard, Jeanne Assam, 43, wounded him.
Services will be held next week to memorialize the four killed in the rampage at New Life and another religious facility, Youth With a Mission, which is in Arvada.
Murray had first struck at Youth With a Mission, a school and missionary organization. There he killed Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24.
Murray, who had two 9mm handguns among his weapons and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, wounded two others at New Life.
"You never think that that is going to happen to you," Works said.
Gunman angered over no mission
The troubled Murray, who had been raised Christian in a deeply religious family, was angered that YWAM had refused to send him on a mission.
He left behind a hate-filled screed that included the words "Christian America . . . this is YOUR Columbine."
Murray family spokeswoman Casey Nikoloric said the Murrays won't attend the memorial services.
They believe their presence would take the focus away from the dead.
"They don't want anything to take the focus away from where it ought to be, but that is where their hearts and their minds will be," Nikoloric said. "They do plan to observe in prayer the specific moments of silence that New Life and YWAM will be observing, and they will certainly be there in spirit and thought and prayer."
Works, his wife and two surviving daughters have had a year to come to grips with the tragedy. It hasn't been easy, he said, but they have had the support of their community and church.
And they have met with Murray's parents, Ronald and Loretta, several times since the shootings.
"We're not mad at Matthew, we're not mad at his parents, we are not mad at God," Works said.
In a statement released Thursday, Ronald and Loretta Murray said: "We will always have an ache in our hearts for the families of these precious young people and for our beloved son, Matthew. Yet, God's love has truly carried us through this past year . . .
"We are extremely grateful for all those in our community and across the nation who have sent cards and letters and have prayed for us. We are very thankful for the graciousness and mercy we have received from the Crouse, Johnson and Works families, and from YWAM and New Life Church."
Brady Boyd, 41, New Life's pastor, was in his second-floor office when an assistant came in and told him congregants were under attack. Through the open door he heard a fusillade of shots coming from the church below — shots that he believes were Murray's last.
Pastor told to stay put
Church security guards told him to stay put, and he watched from his window as congregants poured from the building and ran for safety. He didn't know anyone had died until police took him to a room where Marie Works and others were sitting.
"I saw Marie Works sitting in the middle of the room covered in blood and I realized I didn't know the full story," he said.
Peter Warren, director of YWAM, said the shootings have had an impact on the school.
"The anniversary will stir some things up," Warren said. "We are doing well, as well as can be expected."
Denver Post reporters Kieran Nicholson and Elizabeth Aguilera contributed to this report. Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, the name of Rachel Works was misspelled.