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The gunman in the first incident fled after shooting dead two people.

In both cases, the attacker was described by witnesses as a white man in his 20s wearing black clothing.

The missionary organisation targeted in the first incident is also reported to have had a small office in the church that was attacked only 12 hours later.

The attacks came just four days after a 19-year-old man killed eight people and himself at a busy shopping centre in Omaha, Nebraska.

'Many lives saved'

The first shooting happened just after midnight, local time, at a dormitory in the Youth With a Mission centre, in Arvada, a western suburb of Denver.

Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 23, were killed and two men aged 22 and 23 were wounded, the police said in a statement.

The later shooting in Colorado Springs, 65 miles (105km) from the state capital, occurred at the New Life Church, an evangelical congregation with over 10,000 members.

The gunman killed two teenage sisters - Rachel Works, 16, and Stephanie Works, 18 - and wounded four others, including their father, before being shot dead by "a courageous security staff member who probably saved many lives", police said.

Pastor Brady Boyd also praised the security guard and said the security at his church had been stepped up after the news of the shooting in Denver.

"Although we are grieving today for the loss of two lives, hundreds of lives were saved yesterday because of the plans that were set in place," he told reporters.

House searched

Unconfirmed reports in local media identified the dead gunmen as Matthey Murray, a 24-year-old from Englewood, a southern suburb of Denver.

One unnamed law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Murray had been responsible for both attacks.

He did not have a criminal record but "hated Christians", the official added.

Earlier on Monday, police confirmed they had searched a home in Englewood as part of their investigation into the two shootings.

"Given the circumstances, I think it is a good possibility that the two are linked, but we have to prove that they are," Arvada Deputy Police Chief Gary Creagor said.

At a news conference on Sunday, Mr Creagor's commander, Don Wick, also said there was a "reason to believe" there was a link between the two shootings but said his force would continue to follow all leads.

(BBC)

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