Sorry to read this and will join others in prayer.
Reminds me of a Virginia story - a girl I knew in Charlottesville was convinced someone was stalking her - this was the early 80s. She had recently moved from Richmond where she'd seen two men wearing white shirts, black ties, riding a bicycle frequently in her neighborhood. Apparently there were two of similar build in her Charlottesville neighborhood as well. We had to reassure her that was the way all Mormon missionaries looked...
Prayers up for the young men and their families.
Carolyn
Prayers for the families.
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I usually just tell them I'm not interested.
On the Salt Lake news this morning, they said that the young men were shot because they witnessed the perp shooting another man. They also said that there is concern for the surviving missionary for that reason.
I lived the last 15 years in this area, and just recently moved a few miles south of the state line in NC (I still work in VA). Stuff like this is exactly why I chose to move my family this past year. Nothing shocks me about that place anymore. Chesapeake and Va Beach are becoming more like Norfolk and Portsmouth everyday. Even Suffolk has gone downhill. We had problems with drug dealers in my former neighborhood and we couldn't get anything done about it, so we left.
I think my point is that while it is a travesty that these young men were shot while doing their missionary duties, I think it had nothing to do with religion, just the fact that Hampton Roads is becoming loaded with more and more low-life gang-bangers that have no respect for human life at all.
One of the young men from my Ward is serving in the Richmond, Virginia Mission which serves the Chesapeake area. I haven't talked to her yet, but I'm sure that this Elder's mother is a bit shaken right now. I'm sure her son knew the Missionaries who were attacked and may have been one assigned to that precise area.
My prayers are with the families of both young men.
"He was a very outgoing young man and he was as excited as could be to be going on his mission," said Winslow Young, of Centerville, Utah.
The family was in regular contact with Young, who never expressed any concerns about his safety, his grandfather said. He described his grandson as easygoing and happy in his work for the church, and as a leader for the younger children in his extended family.
"Whenever we had the family together, the other grandchildren would be climbing all over him," he said.
Young was the oldest of four children.
I have a hunch the Savior and Elder Young will get along well together.
| TalkNet: Post condolences and reactions Background Coverage: Two Mormons shot, one killed, during mission
Related: A sorrow felt worldwide Web link: Coverage by The Salt Lake Tribune
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James R. Boughton, 19, was arrested shortly before midnight at his home in the 3100 block of Sir Meliot Drive.
Boughton was charged with first-degee murder, malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding and three counts of using a gun during the commission of a felony.
He is being held without bond in the Chesapeake jail.
No other details of the arrest were immediately available.
Earlier Wednesday, investigators recovered a gun they believe was used in the shootings and announced they had identified “persons possibly involved,” according to a statement released by Christina Golden, police spokeswoman.
Morgan W. Young, 21, was shot to death and Joshua D. Heidbrink, 19, was injured as they went door to door on Elkhart Street Monday. A steady flow of Crime Line tips and the cooperation of residents near the site of the shooting have helped the investigation, Golden said.
Investigators believe the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have been shot because they witnessed a crime, but they released no other details.
Heidbrink’s brother, Scott, said Tuesday that Joshua Heidbrink and Young heard shots just before a man ran up to them and started firing. The gunman fled, and Heidbrink, who was shot first, ran to a nursing home for help.
Young died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. His body is expected to be released by the medical examiner’s office this week and will be flown back to his home in Bountiful, Utah, his grandfather, Winslow Young, said Wednesday.
The church was working with the family on funeral arrangements, Winslow Young said, and the service probably will take place next week.
Heidbrink was expected to fly home to Greeley, Colo., with his parents to recover from his injuries, his brother said.
He had been a missionary for two months.
Heidbrink’s parents declined interviews Wednesday and a church spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
Morgan Young was nearing the end of his two-year mission for the church and was expected to return home in March. He had planned to attend Brigham Young University to study computers. His death was Chesapeake’s first homicide of the year.
In a statement released Tuesday, the church assured its members that it “will continue to make every effort to safeguard the health and safety of missionaries throughout the world.”
“And of course, the church support is just phenomenal,” Winslow Young said. “It’s a very close-knit culture and extremely supportive.”
Young said he has heard from strangers and friends across the country.
“People I haven’t had contact with for years have contacted us,” he said.
The family, Winslow Young said, wants Hampton Roads residents to know family members aren’t bitter about their loss.
“People have been most generous and most sympathetic. I’m sure that they feel terrible that this happened.’’
Reach Cindy Clayton at (757) 222-5201 or cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com
Murder weapon found Wednesday night. Nineteen year old Chesapeake resident, James R. Boughton, arrested shortly before midnight.
