A lone gunman laid siege to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado yesterday, killing three people – including a police officer – and wounding at least eight others before surrendering to authorities after a deadly five-hour standoff, officials say.
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“Certainly it could have been much, much worse if it were not for the heroism of our police officers to corner the person in the building”, Colorado Springs Fire Chief Chris Riley said.
Brigitte Wolfe, manager of the nearby Jun Japanese Restaurant, told the Herald she was among the dozens of people huddled behind locked doors while police, SWAT teams, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and ATF officials worked to free people trapped inside the building and apprehend the suspect.
No motive is known, and Buckley has said that police are unsure of any connection to Planned Parenthood, though police in Denver and NY reportedly were increasing their presence at clinics there as a precaution.
In a statement, Kafi Rouse, the director of public relations for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said: “Our top priority is the safety of our patients and staff. The situation in Colorado is tragic, and our hearts go out to everyone involved”.
A suspect, now identified as Robert Lewis Dear, was detained late Friday following the five-hour standoff that left two others dead in addition to Swasey.
Names of the other two victims were not immediately available.
The location of the shooting is less than 6 miles from the street where a man shot and killed two of three people before dying in a gun battle with police on Halloween day.
Mayor John Suthers says the community “mourns the loss of a very fearless police officer”.
Swasey was a member of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Police Department.
Garrett Swasey, the police officer killed during the attack on a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado earlier today, was a co-pastor in his local church and personally pro-life, according to reports.
Officers scrambled to find an opportunity to kill the gunman without harming people holed up in the clinic, according to chatter from the police scanner. She called her brother Friday afternoon, and “I heard the shooting”, a tearful Motolinia said.
“I tried to get out of my vehicle and run, then I thought about that and said “no”.
Mr Kinzinger said he would “fully expect an apology” from Planned Parenthood if it became clear they were not the target of the shooting.
Buckley said, “We can’t confirm where the shooter is at this point”.
“They were able to shout to the suspect and make communication with him and at that point they were able to get him to surrender and he was taken into custody”, Buckley said.
There are at least eight ambulances waiting at an intersection near the clinic and a nearby shopping center.
The Manzanola, Colorado, resident sought shelter at a nearby grocery store, where people tended to what turned out to be superficial wounds from shattering glass.
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Cowart told CNN she believes all staff and patients from the clinic are accounted for.
