More than 2,000 honor slain NM family

January 26, 2013 @ 1:29 am


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Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - More than 2,000 people gathered at an Albuquerque church to remember five members of a New Mexico family gunned down in their home last weekend. There were also prayers for the 15-year-old son and brother charged with the killings.

Following a police escort, chaplains and members of the Albuquerque Fire Department lined the procession. Bagpipes played at the memorial service Friday and the urns of former pastor Greg Griego, his wife Sarah and their three young children were carried into the one of the city's largest churches.

Family members recalled Greg Griego's lumbering walk, his hearty laugh and his endless commitment to helping others to turn their lives around. His wife, known for her cooking, and their children were just as much a part of that ministry. The family was always a front-row fixture at church services.

The crowd prayed for the Griegos and for their son Nehemiah, who remains in custody.

Annette Griego, one of Greg Griego's adult daughters, told those at the service that her father was a man whose heart was after God.

"My dad never gave up on me. He never gave up on any of us. He never stopped giving us Jesus and so I know he would want us to do the exact same thing for our brother, Nehemiah," she said. "So if you wonder where we stand, we stand alongside our brother."

"We stand confident that God will take this tragedy and use it for something good," she said.

News of the slayings has reverberated throughout the community, where Greg Griego _ a former gang member turned pastor _ was known for his work with jail inmates, his service at local rescue missions and his spiritual guidance for firefighters and members of the military.

Friends said Greg Griego and his teenage son went on missions to Mexico and that the boy was a talented drummer who played with the church's youth band.

On Friday, family, friends and members of the Calvary Albuquerque church who watched the boy grow up continued to struggle, trying to make sense of the tragedy.

Nehemiah Griego was just a normal teen to Vince Harrison, a former police officer who had known the family for about 10 years through his security work at the church.

"He did not fit the criteria of a kid who was crazy into guns and wanted to hurt people. That's absolutely false," Harrison said.

Nehemiah Griego is facing murder and child abuse charges in the deaths of his parents and three younger siblings _ all found shot to death inside their rural home south of Albuquerque on Jan. 19.

Detectives were at the home for two days collecting evidence. They also have been reviewing text messages and calls between the boy and his 12-year-old girlfriend and security video from Calvary, where the teen apparently spent much of the day following the early morning shootings.

After the killings, authorities allege that Nehemiah Griego reloaded his parents' two semi-automatic rifles and put them in the family van and planned to gun down Wal-Mart shoppers.

Public defender Jeff Buckels said he will consult with mental health experts and investigate the effects of violent video games. Authorities have said Griego liked to play "Modern Warfare" and "Grand Theft Auto."

___

Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (11)


  • Add A Comment

  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    Hows that new gun ban law working?
    January 20, 2013 5:12 pm
    ...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    answer to shootings - more guns!! -
    January 20, 2013 6:12 pm
    Hows that new gun ban law working? You will see in 6 months!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    What gun ban?
    January 20, 2013 8:03 pm
    There are no bans that I'm aware of. The N.R.A will see to that. These paranoid republicans that think the Govt. is going to take away their guns are not thinking straight. All the Govt. wants to do is keep assault weapons out of the hands of felons and mentally disadvantaged persons. I know that sounds like a lot of republicans I have met in my life but that's about all they can do at present. Stockpile your assault rifles and ammo you idiots, while you're at it build a bomb shelter and stock it with enough food for a couple of years. When you're done building it, move into it and leave the rest of us alone. We all have lives to live, normal lives, not paranoid lives like yours.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    longwayhome
    January 20, 2013 9:01 pm
    How about if you mind your OWN business and quit telling other people how to run theirs.This is a big problem with liberals today.Enough said.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • guest32 wrote...
    mentally ill
    January 24, 2013 7:28 am
    There is no mechanism in palce to report mental health issues that will not violate the HIPPA laws. As long as the person marks that box on the form that they are sane they get the guns..
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/01/24/assault-weapons-ban-list-feinstein/1862483/
    January 25, 2013 12:39 am
    A cut in government is a program not getting an increase , a gun ban to "some" ignorant people is "not" a gun ban. Amazing
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/01/24/assault-weapons-ban-list-feinstein/1862483/
    January 25, 2013 12:40 am
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    ron and bill
    January 21, 2013 8:24 pm
    Weak arguments. Did either of you go to high school or get the equivalent of a high school education? Sure doesn't appear to me that you did. Spell check for dunderhead bill and ron, you don't have anything else to say except mind my own business? Seems to me ronnie that you never hesitate to slam a poster who you don't agree with. Here's back at ya'.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    Probably could have done it with a rock
    January 22, 2013 7:30 am
    Ban rocks.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Name and address bill
    January 23, 2013 7:05 pm
    Send it out to everyone. You are stupider than I thought if you do.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }