PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLINIC COLORADO SPRINGS |
The police in Colorado Springs, USA
report that a man, Robert Lewis Dear, 57 years, of South Carolina, wearing
hunting gear and armed with a long gun went on a shooting spree, which commenced
at about 11:38am, killing a police officer and two civilians yesterday, Friday,
inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in the town.
SHOOTER LED AWAY BY POLICE |
The authorities identified the dead
officer as Garrett Swasey, 44, who was assisting Colorado Springs police in the
incident, Swasey was a six-year veteran of the town’s university police department.
The Planned Parenthood organization,
however, said in a statement that its staffers were not among the civilians
killed at the location as they had all been accounted for.
Colorado Springs police Lt.
Catherine Buckley confirmed that the alleged shooter had been taken into
custody Friday evening after barricading himself inside the clinic while
carrying out the shooting rampage that the police officer and two civilians
dead. Five other police officers and four other civilians were injured in the
shooting the authorities said.
The police had earlier in a rescue
operation, with the gunman still free, entered into the Planned Parenthood
building and brought out six or seven civilians hiding in a bathroom. They also
successfully evacuated others from the building.
The police spokesperson said the
suspect carried some items with him into the clinic but did not confirm if the
items were dangerous devices.
The White House officials confirmed
that President Obama had been informed about the development in Colorado by the
Homeland Security advisor and updates would be given to him as needed.
The president of Planned Parenthood,
Vicki Cowart said in a statement: "The heart of Planned Parenthood of the
Rocky Mountains is broken tonight as we try to make sense of the horrific
tragedy that struck our beloved health center in Colorado Springs today. Our
thoughts are with the all those who were impacted and particularly the families
of the two civilians and one heroic law-enforcement officer whose lives were
lost." He noted that the shooter's motives remained unknown same with if
the Planned Parenthood was deliberately targeted.
The National Abortion Federation,
however, pointed to a series of anti-abortion videos released earlier in the
year, saying the videos have resulted in an unprecedented increase in hate
speech and threats against abortion providers.
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