A mother was killed, and two others were wounded last Friday after a man entered a church in Aurora, Colorado, and opened fire during a worship service.
According to police, Jose de Jesus Montoya Villa, 32, shot and killed Adela Madrid, a mother of two. Jesus Montoya Villa was Madrid’s ex-boyfriend. She was attending Iglesia Faro de Luz Church in Aurora, Colorado.
CNN reports that the shooter also wounded two other men, both of whom are pastors at the church. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover.
Jesus Montoya Villa fled the scene, and police are looking for him.
“It wasn’t just a random shooting inside this church,” Aurora Police spokesperson Matthew Longshore said at a news conference.
Madrid’s brother David Soto said his sister had ended the relationship with Jesus Montoya Villa, News 9 reports.
“As far as we know, there was a breakup, and she didn’t want anything to do with him. He kept following her and wouldn’t leave her alone,” Soto said. “She was an avid churchgoer, and ultimately that’s where she lost her life.”
Madrid was an active member of the church. She graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder and worked as a healthcare worker.
Madrid’s daughter, Adeya Vidales-Madrid, 16, told police that she hopes the shooter is caught.
“I want them to know that I want him to turn himself in, or for somebody to give information about him because he took my mom in a very cruel way that she did not deserve to go through,” she told news reporters.
Madrid’s mother, Carmen Herrera, echoed those sentiments.
“They took her from all of us. They took her from this world that she loved helping everybody in,” Herrera said. “She was such a loving person for everyone. Please help us get him. We have to get him off the streets.”
Police have issued a first-degree murder arrest warrant for Jesus Montoya Villa. Metro Denver Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information that could help lead to his arrest.
About 15 to 20 people were in the church at the time of the shooting, police said.
Related:
Man Shot Dead in Alabama while Sharing the Gospel
Photo courtesy: ©Pexels/Kat Wilcox
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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