On Friday, November 27, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado was open fired on. The suspect, who has been named as 57 year old Robert Lewis Dear, began shooting outside of the building and then led police into a nearly six hour long standoff exchanging gunfire before he surrendered and was apprehended.
The standoff between Dear and authorities, which began just after the initial 911 call at 11:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) resulted in three deaths and nine civilian injuries. While his motive was and is still currently deemed unclear by police, CNN reported Dear, who openly expressed anti-abortion and anti-government views, was heard muttering something about “baby parts” after the shooting. From this, inferences have been made in regards to Dear’s motive. CNN also reported investigators also found evidence in and around the building including handguns and rifles, which were allegedly brought in a duffle bag to the scene by Dear, and propane tanks believed to be part of Dear’s attack.
The attack, according to Reuters, is the first deadly attack on a U.S. abortion provider in six years. However, according the the Wall Street Journal, the attack comes after recent months of protesters gathering outside clinics due to the surfacing video from an anti-abortion group which allegedly shows officials from Planned Parenthood discussing reimbursements for supplying fetal tissue for medical research.
Of the deceased was Officer Garrett Swasey, who was a six year veteran of the university police force and worked at the University of Colorado. Two civilians, Jennifer Markovsky and Ke’Arre Stewart, were also killed in shooting. According to the Denver Post, Stewart was an army veteran who enlisted out of high school in 2004 and served in Iraq. Markovsky was a stay at home mom, who moved to Colorado after her husband was stationed there for the military.
According to CNN, Dear, who is currently being held in a Colorado Springs prison without bail, faces charges of first degree murder. The charges were addressed in Dear’s first court appearance on Monday, November 30, who faced his arraignment via video feed from prison. If found guilty, Dear faces a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum sentence of the death penalty. After the court appearance, District Attorney Dan May said in an interview with Reuters that prosecutors will have 63 days to decide whether or not they want to bring a death penalty case. The U.S. Justice Department officials have also joined the case, increasing the possibility of a terrorism or civil rights case being brought against Dear by the federal government. Dear will formally charged on December 9.
While this is Dear’s first time facing murder charges, it is not his first run-in with the law. Dear had previously been accused of domestic and animal abuse, in addition to being charged with being a peeping tom.
On Saturday, November 28, Obama addressed the attack in a statement offering praise for Officer Swasey, condolences for the families of the victims, and condemnation of another violent attack through the use of gun violence. Obama once again called on policymakers to do something to prevent future mass shootings. “This is not normal. We can’t let it become normal,” Obama said in a CNN article. “Enough is enough.”